On Monday morning, April 19, contractor JC Antone began construction on the Mt. Philo Road sidewalk. The new sidewalk will run from Falls Road to Wild Ginger Lane along the east side of Mt. Philo Road. The path on Mt. Philo Road will run approximately a half of a mile.

JC Antone was awarded the project with a bid price of $119,700. Eighty percent of this path project is funded by federal stimulus dollars and 20 percent is by a Town match. The Town matches for this and other path projects was one of the elements comprising the bond vote in 2008 for expansion of Shelburne's paths and sidewalks. The good news is that although voters had approved approximately $40,000 for the Mt. Philo Road path match, in fact, the cost will be much less, ($23,940). The Town had some very competitive bid proposals and thus the winning bid came in way below the originally projected cost.

To recap, the four bond vote projects approved by the voters in March 2008, and the construction status, are as follows: the Spear Street bike lanes (completed in 2009), the Harbor Road sidewalk (50 percent complete), the Mt. Philo Road sidewalk (construction began recently), and the Webster Road shared-use path (not started).

The Webster Road shared-use path is currently on hold until all easements and preliminary steps for the path are in place. According to Town Manager Paul Bohne, the Town has been working on getting these easements from residents on Webster Road since last summer. He said that generally the easement is for two feet of property, in addition to other various easements to account for slopes etc. Bohne also said that most property owners have agreed to the easements. One property that is taking a bit more time is near the Shelburne Baptist Church. The difficulty here is that the Town not only has to obtain the easement from the church, but also has to have Green Mountain Power relocate some poles.

"If things move along smoothly, construction could begin late summer or late fall," said Bohne. Other time considerations are that after the easements are received the Town must go before the Agency of Transportation (AOT) for approval. Once the Town receives approval from AOT, the project must go out to bid for construction and then a bid is selected and approved. Gradually the Town is getting closer to building a path on Webster Road.

According to Chair of the Shelburne Bike and Pedestrian Paths Committee Rob Donahue, "We [the paths committee] are hearing from many residents in those neighborhoods off Webster Road that they are anxiously awaiting the start of construction." Donahue said that the paths committee has done all it can do in terms of prioritizing and getting the project funded.

With regard to the Harbor Road sidewalk, it has been built from McCabe Circle to Athletic Drive. Remaining is the segment from Athletic Drive to Route 7. Public Works Director Bernie Gagnon is working on some design alternatives and expects to meet with Vermont Railway and the abutting landowners at some point to discuss the completion. (Completed segment from Turtle Lane to McCabe Circle was not a part of the bond scope).