By Polly Mikula
At Town Meeting Day Killington voters overwhelmingly approved Article 4, a bond not to exceed $11.2 million for the final portion of the new municipal water system — Contract 5, 6A, and 7. The vote was 225 yes to 106 no.
The next day, Wednesday, March 5, the town signed a contract with SUR Construction West, Inc. of Winchester, New Hampshire, to continue the water line from its intersection at East Mountain Road to Ravine Road — Contract 4. The bid for construction was $6.96 million and the total project cost is $8.37 million for this portion.
A portion of Contract 4 — East Mountain Road through the proposed village — is within the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. The portion from The Lookout to Ravine Road is outside of the TIF district and will instead be financed through a combination of the town’s Catalyst grant (managed by the Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant and State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan.
Work is scheduled to begin the week of April 21 (pending frost levels) and will take 435 days to complete, with a planned break in the schedule next winter. Production assumes an average of 400 feet per day of construction with two crews working from each end of the project; paving is scheduled for Fridays. One lane will remain open to traffic at all times. Work hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with federal holidays off.
A portion of Contract 4 (6,400 feet) should coincide with Phase 1A of the Killington Road project, which is expected to go to bid within the next few weeks and be completed by next April. SUR Construction will first prioritize the 11,600 feet outside the road project, then “coordinate with the road contractor for planning of the concurrent projects,” according to the contract signed March 5.
Casella has been working on Contract 1-3A of the waterline for over a year and will complete that portion of the project this spring. Contract 1-3A brings water from the valley wells on the “flats” of Route 4 to a pump station east on Route 4 then up across East Mountain Road to Shagback Mountain and back down to East Mountain Road.
SUR Construction will hook into that water main connection on East Mountain Road and bring the water to the proposed village area, then continue the line to the intersection of Ravine Road and Killington Road.
Water is anticipated to become available to residents along East Mountain Road by September 2026.
