Old Lyme — Construction to make improvements to Hartford Avenue in Sound View is slated to begin this September, after residents voted to approve the work at a packed town meeting on Monday.

By a majority voice vote, residents at the meeting in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium approved up to $877,000 for the construction costs.

A federal grant, administered through the state Department of Transportation, is expected to cover 80 percent of the expenses. The town would be responsible for $175,400, or less if the bids come in lower, said First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder.

The project is expected to break ground after Labor Day, she said.

The project calls for renovating Hartford Avenue with 6-foot-wide, handicapped-accessible sidewalks, sign posts, benches, bike racks, parallel parking, and markings on the street to indicate that bikes share the road.

The redesign of the street would mean a loss of 22 street parking spaces.

Rob Pinckney of BSC Group, the firm that designed the project, said the "complete street" project is designed to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.

During the planning phase of the project, the Route 156 corridor which connects with Hartford Avenue was evaluated by the town as a bikeway. About 75 percent of the corridor would support bike use, with additional signage, he said. The state DOT is taking the evaluation under consideration, he said.

Before the vote, residents asked questions about or commented on sewers, zoning regulations, the lowering of speed limits, and that Route 156 could be dangerous for bicyclists, among other topics. Some also commented on the need for public restrooms.

Reemsnyder said the town would continue efforts to try to find funding for the Sound View Green and public restrooms, which are not covered under the project's transportation grant.

At the meeting, residents also voted to approve up to $60,000 in anticipated excess costs for the state resident trooper. These costs would be offset by about $90,000 in decreased costs in the municipal police department, said Reemsnyder.

The excess costs come as the state changed the funding formula for the resident state trooper, after the town had already approved its fiscal year 2016 budget, said Reemsnyder. Under the change, the town has to cover 85 percent of the trooper's fringe benefits, rather than 70 percent.

The other anticipated expenses include costs for DUI checks, overtime, and the hiring of a second resident trooper for the busy summer months, after two of the town's six police officers, Martin Lane and Thomas Heinssen, resigned. The approval would cover the period between Memorial Day and the end of June for the resident trooper.

Residents also approved the acceptance of Queen Anne Court as a town road.

k.drelich@theday.com