Village of Saugerties special projects coordinator Alex Wade had good news and bad news for the village board regarding the repair of bluestone sidewalks on portions of Partition and Main streets. Reporting on a bid from the only bidder, John Mullen and Sons, Wade said the total amount greatly exceeded the available funds. But the good news, Wade continued, was that the portion of the bid for resetting and replacing the bluestone was slightly under estimate.
Wade said he was not allowed to reveal the amount of the bid until the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has reviewed it.
The curbing was what drove the main cost increases. Curbing requires “cutting the asphalt paving, digging down 18 inches and repaving – three layers – as well as pouring new curbs,” said Wade. “It also requires extensive additional traffic control on a tight corner. These items alone exceed our allotted budget.”
Wade has been working with the Region 8 DOT to resolve the problems. The DOT will allow the village to drop the street curbs, but some curbing would be required at the rear of the sidewalk at the village driveways.
The changes will require revising the drawings and rebidding the project. If the project’s cost cannot be brought to within the amount the village can afford, the state’s contribution to the planning and engineering would have to be refunded, Wade warned.
The village could consider tinted, stamped concrete as an alternative.
The village might have to repay the state for the engineering costs, which Wade said “would be a horror show.”
Mayor William Murphy suggested reducing the scope of the project to bring the cost down. “That’s what they [New York State] won’t let us do,” Wade responded.
The section along Main Street near the Orpheum Theater and the Inquiring Mind bookstore is some of the worst, Murphy said. Sections of Partition Street sidewalks are too narrow to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, “which I think were written in Kansas,” Wade joked.
Murphy said he wanted to convince the DOT “to shrink it, make it fit the budget, and do what we can.”
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