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Town of Southborough Trails Committee to seek up to $450,000 in CPA funds for peninsula bridge
Summary
The Town of Southborough Trails Committee will submit a Community Preservation Act application requesting the full bridge amount—estimated in planning at roughly $440,000–$450,000—while pursuing a MassTrails grant to offset costs; the committee has $211,000 secured and expects the application next Tuesday.
Cat McKe, chair of the Town of Southborough Trails Committee, said the committee will submit a draft Community Preservation Act application next Tuesday seeking funding for the peninsula bridge and related project management and engineering costs.
The request will ask Town Meeting for the full bridge amount and include language to reduce the CPA allocation if the committee receives a MassTrails grant, Cat McKe said. The strategy is intended to ensure the town would not have to reconvene a vote if grant funding arrives later.
Why it matters: the bridge is the central unfinished piece of the peninsula trail. Committee members said securing full funding now would allow them to move to bidding and construction in 2027 if permits and grant outcomes align.
The committee based a planning estimate on the highest combined vendor bid for the bridge and boardwalk (about $468,000). Using the vendor‑provided 65/35 split (65% allocated to the bridge), the committee estimated the bridge portion at about $305,000, added a recommended 20% contingency (~$61,000) for a subtotal of roughly $365,000, and then applied an additional allowance for likely year‑to‑year cost escalation to reach an overall planning figure near $440,000–$450,000. The committee currently holds about $211,000 allocated to the project.
The chair said the bridge vendor will deliver an updated written quote with decking options (fiberglass or wood) and that the committee plans to ask Beals & Thomas to prepare the bid package and provide engineering oversight during construction. She also noted two Notices of Intent filed in 2024 for Southborough and Framingham that run through roughly September 2027; the committee will confirm with permitting officials whether the NOI must be modified if the work is limited to the bridge.
The committee plans to gather support letters from the Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission and MetroWest agencies and to add those to the CPC package. If CPC requests tweaks, the committee will update the application in follow‑up submissions before town meeting.
Next steps: the committee will submit the draft CPA application Tuesday, seek the listed support letters, obtain the vendor quote, and return to CPC as needed. Committee members said the MassTrails grant cycle is competitive and operates on an annual schedule that could push contracting into late 2027 if awarded.
