Select Board to hold special town meeting to decide Hatchtown Bridge replacement

The Bristol Select Board voted to schedule a special town meeting to authorize action on the Hatchtown Bridge replacement after contractors warned that the steel beams for the project have long lead times that require an order this month.

Board members recounted that CPM Constructors’ bid for the replacement was previously accepted at an earlier meeting and said the contractor told the board a purchase order must be issued by the end of January to secure steel deliveries in time for a summer construction schedule. A representative for the contractor told the board, “they require purchase order by the end of January so we just need a contract to be able to order and steel otherwise we won't get it in the time.”

That timeline puts the town on a tight schedule: if materials are not ordered in January the contractor said work could be delayed until the following construction season. To avoid that risk the Select Board discussed two options — authorize only the materials purchase in advance or present the full construction package to voters — and decided to put a warrant article on a special town meeting. Board members discussed possible dates and settled on a target date at the end of January (the board identified the 29th as a likely option) to allow full advertising of the warrant and to meet the supplier’s deadline.

Why this matters: ordering the steel early could preserve the contractor’s ability to build during the summer season and avoid longer delays and potential price increases; but ordering materials before voter approval risks the town owning materials that voters might later decline to fund.

Details discussed at the meeting included the contractor’s estimate that, with a purchase order in January, work could start in late June or early July and be completed in the summer construction window. The board instructed staff to prepare warrant language that explains the timing and financing options. Members also asked the budget committee to review financing scenarios — including borrowing if FEMA reimbursements are delayed — and noted the budget committee will meet in February to consider numbers and technical information to present to voters.

What happens next: staff will draft warrant language for the special town meeting and circulate cost estimates and financing options to the budget committee. The board will bring the article before voters at the special town meeting; if voters decline the project the town may need to rebid or delay the work into a later year.