Sidewalk project to resume

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Those who walk along Quaker Street will soon find a smoother surface underfoot.
The village and town plan to resume the final phase of a two-part sidewalk project along Quaker Street later this month of next.
When complete, the project will result in a new concrete sidewalk on the west side of the street from the area of Tractor Supply north to the elementary school.
The village is expected to solicit bids for the cement during the coming weeks and officials are hopeful the project will be done by the end of October.
The work is the final phase of a project that began in the fall of 2012. The initial phase of the project included the construction of a sidewalk on both the west and east side of Quaker Street from the area of Tractor Supply south to Rite Aid.
Officials had hoped to complete the project much earlier than now, but put the project was put on hold after the state found the parameters of the work to be unacceptable.
The village and town, in 2010, applied for a grant from the Glens Falls Transportation Council to install the sidewalk. Under the grant, the village and town agreed to pay for one-third of the cost with the remainder being paid for with grant monies.
The sidewalk was initially going to be installed on the east side of Route 149 but the Department of Transportation suggested the project be done on the west side of the street.
The village and town agreed to the stipulations, acquired the necessary permits and approval from the local DOT office in Hudson Falls, and completed the first phase of the project.
The cost was approximately $16,000 and the village and town did the prep work and hired a local contractor to lay the cement.
When the village and town, however, sought reimbursement for that phase of the project, DOT refused, saying they wanted additional paperwork and that any contractors hired to do the work needed to be approved by the agency.
At the time, Dan Williams, head of the village DPW, pegged the cost of reworking the plans between $5,500 and $7,500 and the money would not be reimbursed under the grant.
That cost made reapplying for the grant prohibitive and instead officials decided to apply that money to the actual work.
“I think the town and village’s goal is to see this project complete,” Mayor Brian LaRose said, adding that the village continues to investigate the possibility of recouping some of its money from the state.
The village, last week, authorized the expenditure of up to $17,500 to complete its half of a sidewalk project on Quaker Street and the town did the same on Thursday. The total cost to complete the project isn’t expected to exceed $35,000.
Supervisor Matt Hicks said the town and village will hire someone to bring in the forms and concrete and the village DPW and the town highway department will complete the rest of the work.