New London — The city’s Public Works Department is asking City Council for $2.8 million to repair aging, crumbling and buckling sidewalks and curbs.

The roadway improvement program priority list for 2016 contains a host of sidewalks on roads in both commercial and residential areas where pedestrian foot traffic is high.  

William Camosci, assistant director of engineering services, said the proposed work is a continuation of a five-year plan to address problem areas — a list that continually grows.

He said the city on average has funded close to $2 million in such improvements each year in an attempt to keep pace with the deterioration of sidewalks, both concrete and brick, and roadways.

Camosci said his experience has been that wherever roadside repairs are made, nearby buildings follow suit.

“You find people start improving the exterior of their properties,” Camosci said. “There are benefits all around.”

Sidewalk replacement is being proposed for Bank, State, Golden, Williams, Meridian and Broad streets, Eugene O’Neill Drive and Governor Winthrop Boulevard, among others.

The estimated cost for the work ranges from $205,000 on Broad Street to $5,000 on Golden Street.

Sidewalk replacement and stone curb work are proposed for Pequot Avenue at a cost of $425,000, and Neptune Avenue for $95,000.

Some of the most expensive proposed work, a total of $1.35 million, will come with sidewalk, curbing and pavement repair work needed on Granite, Amity, Bayonet and Williams streets and Hawthorne Drive.

In addition to the aesthetics, there is also the liability issues being addressed with the work, Mayor Michael Passero said. Many of the areas identified produce the highest number of trip and fall claims against the city, he said.

The City Council is expected to take up the funding request at its next meeting. Money would need to be borrowed for the projects.

Passero said there are some areas in “abysmal shape,” and repairs will show the city’s commitment to its merchants.

“When a new business opens up ... people look at the sidewalks, and in some places the concrete has turned into stone dust,” he said. Trees have heaved pavement in some areas where tree grates are slated for installation.

Passero said some of the roadway repairs that might have been targeted will be delayed in anticipation of underground infrastructure work before construction begins on the National Coast Guard Museum.

City Councilor Martha Marx, chairwoman of the council’s Public Works Committee, said she expects that residents, including members of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee, will have their own areas of concern and express their thoughts at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The Public Works Committee voted 2-1 to move the funding request to the City Council, with Marx and Michael Tranchida in favor and John Satti against it.

Between 2008 and 2015 the city invested $8.7 million on sidewalk replacements, installation of stone curbing, storm drain repairs and pavement replacement along 60 roadways, according to a memorandum from interim Public Works Director Brian Sear.

Funding for road and sidewalk repairs also comes from other sources.

Pequot Avenue, between Harris Street and Granada Terrace, will receive new sidewalks and stone curbing in the spring under the 2015 Roadway Improvement Program.

State and federal funds were used to complete a Montauk Avenue road project between Niles Hill Road and Neptune Avenue. 

Construction is expected to start later this year on a $3 million Ocean Avenue project funded through the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay