Milton council awards contract for Federal Street water project
By unanimous vote Oct. 7, Milton Town Council approved a $2.2 million bid by contractor Bearing Construction to build a new well and treatment plant on town-owned land on Federal Street.
The town received $1.6 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for the project, but the two bids the town received came in higher than expected, meaning the difference in cost will come out of the town’s reserve funds, Town Manager Kristy Rogers said. Bearing Construction was the low bidder on the project.
The work involves building an electrical power feed extension, construction of a water treatment building, driveway improvements and well pump installation. The project also includes raw water piping to the treatment building, and installing water treatment equipment, chemical feed systems, finished water piping, and electrical power and controls.
The Federal Street project has been identified as a priority by the town’s water committee, and officials have been working on it for several years. Use of ARPA funds is limited, with possible uses including water infrastructure, revenue recovery, broadband, housing or sewer projects.
The land at 416 Federal St. was purchased in December 2019 with water infrastructure in mind. Besides the well and treatment plant, the site is also slated to have a new water tower; in January, town voters approved borrowing $3.8 million from the state to build the new tower.
