Wayne committee recommends at least $50,000 reserve for Tempe Bridge engineering

The Town of Wayne’s road committee recommended that the select board and budget committee establish a capital reserve for the Tempe Bridge and that the town put a minimum of $50,000 into that account this fiscal year to pay for an engineering study and early planning work.

Members said they had received wide-ranging cost estimates for bridge work (the meeting referenced options ranging from a lower‑cost engineering study in the tens of thousands to replacement scenarios in the several hundred thousand to million‑dollar range). Committee members argued a reserve would let the town hire engineers to define repair or replacement options and to preserve the town’s ability to seek grants or finance larger construction costs later.

At the meeting one member proposed starting the reserve with $50,000; Brian seconded that recommendation and the committee approved sending the recommendation to the select board and budget committee with language that the reserve be established and initially funded "at least $50,000." Members noted that the $50,000 is intended primarily to cover engineering, plans and specifications rather than full construction.

The committee asked staff to develop a scope for an engineering study, gather more precise cost estimates, and present a recommended funding line to the budget committee during the coming budget cycle. The recommendation was recorded as a committee action to be delivered to the select board and budget committee for inclusion in the capital budget discussion.