Study delays sidewalk project

By COURTNEY LAMDIN | Staff Writer
courtney@miltonindependent.com

The sidewalk planned for Hobbs Road this summer will be put off slightly due to a state-required archeological study of the area, town engineer Andy Legg said.

Because the project received a $150,000 federal grant last fall, it was subject to Vermont Agency of Transportation review, Legg said. VTRANS’ historic preservation officer determined a study is needed to identify any Native American artifacts, he said.

The study will cost just over $6,500 and will come out of the capital project account for the project, which is slated to connect Emile Drive and McMullen Road with a sidewalk, Legg said.

“We’ve been through this before on sidewalk projects, and we’re quite familiar with the delay that could occur when federal money’s a part of the project funding equation,” he said.

Legg doesn’t expect the dig will unearth any important artifacts and said the study won’t completely halt the project. He said construction will happen late this summer or early spring 2012.

Legg added that the town is not at risk of losing funding due to the delay.

Last fall, Milton won the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s maximum grant award in its competitive program, which offers $250,000 in sidewalk funds annually, he said.