GUILFORD — As the town looks forward to late-spring and summer - unofficially known in Vermont as “construction season” - plans are progressing for Guilford's big 2016 construction project: replacing the Green River covered bridge.
Katie Buckley, Guilford's Town Administrator, announced the preliminary construction schedule at the Jan. 25 Selectboard meeting.
The deadline for submitting bids for two roles - construction contractor, and resident engineer for construction inspection services - was Feb. 8.
The Selectboard will open the bids and then send them to the Selection Committee.
The Selection Committee, formed in December for the purposes of this project, consists of Selectboard members Sheila Morse and Gabby Ciuffreda; Michael Knapp and Addison Minott from Green River; and Emergency Management Director Ron Lenker.
The non-voting advisers to the committee are Highway Foreman/Road Commissioner Dan Zumbruski, Buckley, and Matt Mann, transportation planner at Windham Regional Commission.
Hale Road bridge bid accepted
Also at the Jan. 25 meeting, the Selectboard unanimously voted to award a construction bid to Renaud Bros., Inc. for the repair of Bridge #64 on Hale Road.
The bridge developed a hole in the corrugated metal beneath the deck surface last autumn, and in September, Road Commissioner Dan Zumbruski alerted the board to the situation.
Although Zumbruski and his crew placed a steel plate over the hole, he told the board it was only a temporary fix.
Renaud Bros. was the only company to submit a bid to the town.
For a sum of $123,500, Renaud Bros. will remove the existing bridge deck, perform engineering tasks related to the project, install a new deck, install a bridge rail and approach-guardrail, and replace gravels to match existing conditions.
Board member Anne Rider thanked Zumbruski for working with representatives from Renaud Bros. to show them the damaged bridge.