Council approves $125,919 increase to Causeway streetlight project, recommits local match

Newport — The Newport City Council on Sept. 15 approved a resolution to amend the budget and recommit municipal resources to cover an additional $125,919 in change‑order costs for the Causeway (Main Street) traffic signal and streetlight improvement project.

Frank Cheney, a city staff member who presented the item, said the project’s cost increased due to three change orders: one related to COVID‑era price impacts and two recent orders driven by unexpected soil conditions under foundations that required new borings, revised engineering and “spreader footing” work. He said two recent change orders alone added more than $80,000.

The amendment: the council approved a revised project cost estimate of $1,732,306.01 and committed additional local resources so the city can complete the project and secure Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) funding. Cheney told the council officials already budgeted material and cash and that public‑works staff expect to shift line items to cover the additional $125,000 without increasing the overall municipal budget.

Financing and grants: Cheney said the project funding includes $250,000 from an NBRC grant and a USDA contribution of about $119,052; the balance is municipal funding. Council members asked for detail about how earlier scoping and soil studies were handled; staff said the project was initiated in 2019 and that the recent borings and engineering work exposed conditions that could not have been relied on from earlier work.

Vote and next steps: councilors voted to approve the resolution and to sign the required documents to amend the NBRC contract. Cheney and staff said they do not anticipate further change orders but noted the contractor’s scheduling and responsiveness have been an ongoing management challenge. The amended resolution includes extending the grant deadline to Dec. 31, 2025, to accommodate schedule adjustments.