By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Springfield Town Manager Jeff Mobus gave an outline of five paving projects that are on the docket for this year, pending voter approval of an article asking the town to appropriate $1 million for paving and road construction purposes.
Article 5 on the Town and School District Meeting Warning asks if the town shall vote to appropriate the sum of $1 million for “repaving, road construction, gravel road improvements, and ancillary professional services for the projects specified in the Road Surface Management System Report dated December 2021 or other duly warranted sidewalk improvements.”
If this is approved, as well as the town’s proposed budget of $15,872,049 in Article 4, there is a $1.4 million budget for the projects. This includes the money from the article, an existing $325,000 in the budget, and a slight carryover from previous years.
“We’ve had some good luck on a couple of our projects the last two years,” Mobus said.
Mobus told the board of selectmen at their meeting Monday that he met with Public Works Director Jeff Strong, Highway Superintendent Donny Turner and Civil Engineer Everett Hammond to develop a proposed paving plan for Fiscal Year 2026, for the summer 2025 construction season. If the proposed town budget and paving article pass, there are five roads that will be addressed.
Route 143 has five segments amounting to 4.543 miles that need work. Mobus told the board that this was the route overlaid in the county correctional agreement of 2002, and the road is starting to deteriorate.
“We’re starting to see a decline and we’d like to button that up,” Mobus said, noting that this will go from the Route 5 intersection to Maple Valley.
There will also be a 0.87-mile section, which is the second segment, of Eureka Route that will be paved.
On Spencer Hollow Road, the plan is to seal in last year’s work. There was a paved portion done last year, and Mobus said they wanted it to settle for a year before sealing.
Two segments of Randall Hill Road amounting to 0.90 miles will be paved, as well. This is all driven by culvert work, and as it will be closed for six weeks over the summer, it serves as a good time to get the job done, Mobus explained.
The last project is a 0.9-mile segment of Country Club Road. Mobus explained that this is town property from Center Road up to a parking lot, which was paved last year after being in rough condition. Mobus said this is a “nice community asset,” and it is something that needs to be done.
“The major part of the plan for this coming year is to preserve Route 143,” Mobus said. “We will start from the intersection with Route 5 end and work back toward town. The plan would be to continue on with Summer Street the following year when the town is again eligible for a Class 2 Road Paving Grant.”
Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris noted that this is all advisory, but it does give the board members the chance to see the roads planned for the summer as questions are bound to come up.
“Unfortunately, because of the warm temperature, and in Vermont we’re blessed with water on the roads and freezing temperatures, we’re starting to see some potholes, frost heaves, but potholes mostly,” Morris said.
A public information session will be held at Springfield High School on March 3 at 7 p.m., where there will be reports from town and school officers and committees to discuss the articles on the town and school district meeting warning.
Residents will have a chance to vote on Article 5, and other items including the town and school budgets, at the annual town and school district meeting on March 4. Voting takes place at the Riverside Middle School Gymnasium from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
