Waterford portion of Willetts Avenue gets funding toward repaving

Waterford - The Board of Finance on Wednesday approved an appropriation of just over $23,000 for the repaving of Willetts Avenue from the New London city line to Boston Post Road.

Ron Cusano, the director of public works, requested the additional appropriation of $23,300 to pay for the design portion of the pavement rehabilitation.

The appropriation request at the meeting was to be Cusano's last, as he is retiring within the next two weeks after 31½ years with the town, he said.

The design plan is consistent with the town's Capital Improvement Plan, which allocates funds for use in construction projects and purchases of town equipment or vehicles, he said.

The project, at an estimated cost of $678,000, was recommended by the state, but the funding has yet to be finalized, Cusano said. He said the cost to Waterford taxpayers after the state approves its portion of funding for the project is estimated at just under $160,000.

"For the state to fund this, we had to show them that we truly had an issue out there," Cusano told the board, saying that 5½ inches of pavement needed to be removed and replaced after a field study revealed inconsistencies with the grading of the road.

Once the project funding is approved by the state, Cusano said he expects a conceptual design will be submitted by June 30. A series of public hearings and meetings on the project will be scheduled after a design plan is submitted.

j.hanckel@theday.com