BID OPENED FOR $1.4 MILLION BRYARCLIFFE PROJECT
Robert Mitchell
ccSCOOP News
AUSTERLITZ - Five bids ranging from $1.2 million to $1.5 million to upgrade four miles of private road in Bryarcliffe Estates on West Hill Road were received by the Town of Austerlitz on Thursday, August 28. The bid packages divided the project into two parts: Part A is for drainage; Part B for road reconstruction and paving.
Of more than a dozen bid packages picked up at Town Hall, those that were returned included:
• William J. Keller and Sons Construction Corp., Castleton
Part A: $149,000; Part B: $1,142,000—for a total of $1,291,000
• A. Colarusso and Sons, Inc., Greenport
Part A: $170,000; Part B: $1,180,000—for a total of $1,350,000
• HMA Contracting Corp., Mechanicville
Part A: $178,283; Part B: $1,018,737—for a total of $1,197,020
• Arold Construction Co., Kingston
Part A: $199,000; Part B: $1,320,000—for a total of $1,519,000
• Callanan Industries, Inc., Albany
Part A: $135,000; Part B: $1,314,000—for a total of $1,449,000
Members of the town board will review the bids for two weeks before making a decision.
The town is preparing to borrow up to $1.4 million to bring Bryarcliffe's interior roads up to town specifications. The developer of the project left the roads unfinished, and they have deteriorated badly. Residents have appealed to the town for assistance. If all goes according to plan, the residents of the subdivision will repay the loan, and the town will own, maintain, and plow the four miles of roadway within the subdivision.
The roads within Bryarcliffe are 18 feet wide rather than 20 feet, which is required by Austerlitz town zoning. The Town Board recently amended its local road law to allow the Bryarcliffe roads to stay at their current width.
At a recent town board meeting, critics in the audience objected to the amendment because, they said, it was too broad. The amendment was aimed at helping the Bryarcliffe project move forward, but it gives the town board authority to waive specifications not only for town roads, but also for private roads and driveways. In the words of town resident Alan Silvernail, the law will open a “Pandora's box” of waiver requests.
Some residents of Bryarcliffe Estates are also unhappy with the plan. They do not want the interior roads – Harrington Drive and Partridge Drive – paved. They prefer gravel. Supervisor George Jahn said that if the town is going to take over ownership and maintenance of the roads, they will be paved. Despite higher upfront costs, a paved road is much cheaper to maintain in the long run, Jahn said.
Harrington Drive resident Cono Fusco does not agree with that. In a telephone interview, Mr. Fusco said that there is no question that “everybody in Bryarcliffe wants something done,” but, according to Fusco, “gravel is the most desirable [because] it is most consistent with the bucolic character” of the area.
In addition to being far cheaper to install asphalt, Fusco cited a study that demonstrates that maintaining low-usage roads in harsh winter climates is cheaper when the roads are gravel. Fusco said the town had a copy of the study.
The Town of Austerlitz Highway Department currently maintains about 57 miles of primarily dirt and gravel roads. |
