Groton ― The Town of Groton won’t have to pay for the planned replacement of the Groton Long Point Road Bridge over Palmer’s Cove, saving about $1.7 million in town funds, according to town and state officials.

The town originally had anticipated it would participate in a program in which it would have to pay 20% of the estimated $8.4 million cost to replace the bridge. But the town recently was accepted into a newer program in which the town would not have to pay anything toward the project cost, according to town officials.

The program places the state in charge of the bridge replacement process. The project will be paid for through at least 80% federal funds, with the state providing up to a 20% match, according to a letter from the state Department of Transportation to the town.

“Being part of the 100% program will save the town from spending approximately $1.7 million of their own funds on the project,” said Town Manager John Burt. “The state is also well suited to do this work, and it frees up our public works staff time.”

Burt said design and permitting is scheduled for 2023-2024, while construction is slated for 2025-2026.

The town wants to replace the 1935 bridge, which connects Groton Long Point and Mumford Cove to the rest of Groton, and improve its condition, make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, and make it more resilient to storm surge, according to a presentation over the summer.

The Town Council Committee of the Whole on Tuesday recommended moving forward with the funding program, with the full council slated to take a final vote to approve it at its Feb. 7 regular council meeting.

Public Works Director Greg Hanover told councilors that under this new federal local bridge program, called the Design Managed by State Program, the state would take the project through design, permitting and rights of way acquisitions, and manage the contractor during construction. He said the town will still be involved in providing input throughout the design and construction phases and there will still be a public input component to the project.

Last summer, town councilors looked at a preliminary design from engineering firm AECOM for an elevated bridge that included two bike lanes and a sidewalk. The Groton Long Point Association Board of Directors asked the town to remove from the project a sidewalk from the bridge to East Shore Avenue.

Burt said the Town Council did not endorse a design. The town will send to the DOT all the materials related to the bridge, including the preliminary design, and the state will be gathering more public input.

At Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Town Councilor David McBride asked about the association’s involvement. He said the association had information it was prepared to discuss in July, but his understanding is that the association has not been able to do that. He said the Groton Long Point Association firmly believes it owns the road. He said he is fully in favor of the project, but thinks it is going to be delayed if Groton Long Point isn’t involved.

“I’d like to see if we can bring them to the table and see if we can move this long,” McBride said.

Burt responded that the state will make its own decisions on the project, and the town will see what the state believes as far as ownership and if sidewalks make it into the design.

Josh Morgan, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, told The Day that the Groton Long Point Road Bridge project is in the early stages of development and will be designed to meet state and federal standards.

The bridge is owned and maintained by the municipality, but since it is more than 20 feet long, the state DOT inspects it, Morgan said.

As part of the DOT’s Local Bridge Program, a pilot program was started in 2016 for municipally owned, state inspected bridges, in which the state DOT would partner on the design for future improvements. This speeds up the design process for projects and unlocks additional federal funding opportunities, Morgan explained. “Due to the 2021 federal infrastructure law, these projects in the Local Bridge Program no longer include municipal tax dollars and are entirely funded with state and/or federal dollars,” he said.

k.drelich@theday.com