Brookfield Township has been awarded a grant and a loan to pave 30 streets, but Road Supt. Jaime Fredenburg said it might be 2025 before any asphalt is laid.
The township has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Issue 1 program – state money from a bond issue awarded through a local committee organized by Eastgate Regional Council of Governments – toward a project to pave Golf Drive, Spring Drive, Wintergreen Drive, Valley View Drive, Wildwood Drive and Albright McKay Road between King Graves Road and just south of Amy Boyle Road. The project cost estimate is $750,000, with the township responsible for about $600,000.
The second project will be funded by a $1.8 million, zero-interest loan from Issue 1. It is proposed to be used to pave Hubbard Thomas Road; Grove Street between Seaborn Street – also known as Seaburn Street – and Route 7; Seaborn/Seaburn Street; Wood Street; Iron Street; Lincoln Street; Baxter Street; Stevenson Road; Francis Street; Margaret Avenue; Meek Street; Atlantic Street; Diamond Street; Linden Avenue; Owsley Avenue between Lincoln Street and the dead end; Balint Avenue; Thomas Road; Beddo Road; Lynita Drive; Crestwood Road; Richard Drive; David Lane; Strimbu Drive; and Taylor Street.
The actual construction costs will be based on paving contractor bids, and the loan will be paid back over the useful life of the road. While the useful life will be determined later, Fredenburg said he expects it to be 14 years, which would require an annual payment of $130,000.
Both projects will be funded from the township’s road levy, which brings in about $500,000 a year. When asked how the township will be able to afford its share based on a first-year expected payment of $880,000, Fredenburg replied, “First, we expect the actual construction costs to come in lower than the estimates and secondly, even if we perform the construction in 2024, payment will more than likely be in 2025. We also have some levy monies from this year that will roll over to 2024.”
The township has 43 miles of road and the projects propose to pave about nine miles in one year, Fredenburg said.
The state money will not be released until sometime in July and Fredenburg said he expects the work will be done in 2025. By July, most contractors will have their jobs for the construction season lined up and it is unlikely a company can plan to pave nine miles of road on such short notice, he said.
“I think it’s only fair to the contractor,” he said. “I think that’s a better way to go because I think you get a better price.”
While some work might be done in 2024, “I wouldn’t have my heart set on it,” Fredenburg said.
Still, the road department is planning to start preparations for the paving project this winter. One of the most likely tasks to be done is to cut back trees along the roads to be paved, something best done in the winter, Fredenburg said.
The proposal follows the township’s 20-year road paving plan and covers the years 2024-27 in one project.
