Meriden public works highlights bridge repairs, sidewalk ramps and end of bottle redemption program

At the Parks, Public Works & Recreation Committee meeting, Public Works Director John Lawler gave a broad infrastructure update that ranged from bridge repairs to contract adjustments for waste handling.

Lawler said the Oregon Road Bridge requires emergency repairs even though a full bridge replacement is planned. "There are some emergency repairs that need to get done to Oregon Road Bridge … we anticipate that small amount of work will be getting done in September," he told the committee, and said bids for that short-term work have been received and are under review.

On sidewalks, Lawler said the ARPA-funded ramp program has completed and accepted eight ramps and the city expects roughly 30 ramps in this phase depending on scope and costs. Catch-basin replacements are about 75% complete to prepare for the paving program, and crews aim to finish those tops before paving begins.

Lawler also informed the committee that the monthly bottle-and-can redemption events at the transfer station are ending because the vendor will no longer provide the service due to very low utilization. "There was just low very low utilization, and the vendor just won't come back anymore," Lawler said.

He cautioned that several unanticipated emergency road and sinkhole repairs this year have operational and budgetary impacts and that the city is reviewing options to address recurring infrastructure damage without unnecessarily raising the mill rate. Lawler said the city is tracking signal damage and considering longer-term replacements where wooden poles and outdated attachments have contributed to failures.