Board of Finance approves 2025 paving contract, staff outlines one-mile scope and coordination with bond funds

The Board of Finance of the City of Burlington voted unanimously March 24 to authorize award of the city’s calendar-year 2025 paving construction contract and to move forward with planned resurfacing and patching work.

City public works staff told the board the contract covers roughly 1.19 miles of resurfacing and bundled traffic‑calming and patching work on several downtown and neighborhood streets. The administration said the work was bid earlier in the year and that staff expect to coordinate this contract with upcoming bond-funded projects to increase total mileage in coming years.

Staff said the contract scope includes milling and paving segments of Archibald Street, Walnut Street, Pearl Street, College Street and Cliff Street, plus smaller asphalt patching on other neighborhood streets. Caleb Bana, associate public works engineer for the City of Burlington, and Corey (identified in the meeting as a senior public works engineer) described the planned work and said the contract award would allow staff to set a contractor schedule and coordinate closures with other major downtown projects.

Why it matters: board members and staff framed this as the first step in a multi-year resurfacing plan tied to recently available bond funding. Officials said the contract itself represents a relatively small segment of a broader paving strategy that will increasingly rely on the bond proceeds and closer coordination across capital projects.

Board members pressed staff on several operational points. They asked how long closures would last on streets such as Pearl and College and were told milling and paving phases produce the largest impacts — often a few very disruptive days and then shorter impacts during follow-up work — and that a contractor reconstruction meeting will produce a firm schedule. Staff said sidewalk and ramp upgrades in the contract are less disruptive. Staff also said the contract contains contingency line items that can be used after spring thaw to add more robust patching if conditions warrant.

Staff reported two bids were received for the contract and said pricing this year was consistent with recent years. They said this contract was bid before the city finalized its recent bond sale, but that staff intend to coordinate the larger paving program with bond-funded projects and other capital work to maximize mileage without duplicating effort across departments.

Staff highlighted a public, interactive map created for go-bond outreach that the city will maintain as a dynamic tool for residents to check pavement condition and capital projects; staff said links to the map appear in multiple places on the city website, including the capital plan and DPW construction portals.

The motion to award the contract was moved by Councilor Travers and seconded by Councilor Carpenter; the board voted unanimously to approve the award and proceed with the work.

Board members said they expect detailed contractor schedules, weekly updates to posted work zones, and continued public outreach as the project advances.