Town engineer lays out $10M+ road and sidewalk priorities; board asked to consider $5M bond

Town engineer Brian (B&B Engineering) presented the Fiscal 2026 road plan and a prioritized list of road and sidewalk projects the town needs to address over coming years. He described a five‑phase Bungay (spelled variously in meeting materials) reconstruction program —Phase 0 is complete; phases 1 and 2 are underway — and said the contractor hopes to have paving done on active sections before the end of the year.

Brian said a warrant study and coordination are underway for multiple locations and that the full priority list he supplied would cost roughly $10 million to address comprehensively. "If we did all these, we'd need at least $10 million," he said, and noted the town could progress with smaller sums ("If it's $250,000, we can spend that; if it's $25 million, we can spend that too").

Specific items discussed included a $50,000 LOIP grant targeted to Clinton Road; preliminary design estimates for Clinton Road design were presented at about $300,000–$400,000, with full construction potentially reaching $8–9 million if state‑preferred elements such as a roundabout and culvert upgrades are required. Brian also outlined Seymour Avenue timing — work deferred until adjacent sewer/lateral work finishes — and a sidewalk inventory showing about 25 miles of sidewalks townwide with roughly 5.5 miles needing attention.

Board members raised operational impacts: access for residents and deliveries during construction, mail delivery interruptions, and the need for communication with residents. Brian proposed the board consider a $5 million road bond to restore periodic capital investment in roads the town historically pursued every five years.

The board asked staff to return with more detailed schedule and bond timing considerations for a potential fall ballot question, and to continue outreach to affected neighbors for ongoing projects.