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Select Board approves $3 million design contract for Beacon Street bridal path
Summary
The Select Board approved a $3,000,000 contract with Tool Design Group to advance the Beacon Street bridal path project to 75% design and produce construction bid documents; the work is funded by a $2 million federal earmark and a $1 million town match.
The Town of Brookline Select Board voted Jan. 28 to award a $3,000,000 design and engineering contract (PW-26) to Tool Design Group LLC to advance the Beacon Street bridal path project to a 75% design submittal and produce construction bid documents.
The contract will pay for detailed engineering, environmental review and public engagement to develop plans for a two-way multiuse path along a 2.3-mile stretch of Beacon Street within Brookline, the Department of Public Works said. Aaron Chute, Commissioner of Public Works, told the board the contract follows a two‑year feasibility study and will be used to submit materials to MassDOT as part of the Transportation Improvement Program process.
The project is funded by a $2,000,000 federal earmark secured by Representative Amiklaus and requires a $1,000,000 town match, which the presentation said will come from capital streets and roadway funding. Chute said MassDOT indicated the earmark has been entered in its payment system; the project will still require later construction funding and additional approvals.
Board members pressed staff on timeline, scope and prior expenditures. Chute and Bill Smith, the town’s project manager for Beacon Street work, said the contract covers project management, engineering, public participation, survey, environmental review and the 25% and 75% design deliverables required by MassDOT, and estimated the design phase will take about four years to reach a 75% submittal. "We are projecting about four years right now to move this to that 75% design submittal," Chute said.
Select Board members asked for clearer documentation in future packages; several expressed concern about voting on a $3 million contract without the full exhibit attachments in the board packet but said staff had provided verbal summaries and the materials are available electronically. The board voted to approve the contract after staff confirmed the technical proposal and price proposal are part of the full contract record and that the procurement was competitively bid and reviewed by MassDOT and Town Counsel.
The vote authorizes the Town Administrator to execute the contract and advance design work; it does not obligate construction funds. Officials said the next steps include updated surveying, coordination with MBTA/Green Line studies and continued outreach with adjacent communities.
If the town and its partners secure construction funding in later phases, the design work under this contract will be used to prepare construction bid documents and right-of-way reviews required by MassDOT.
