Milton receives bids for Chestnut Crossing work
The Town of Milton has received bids for a roadway infrastructure improvement project in the Chestnut Crossing development.
The sealed bids will be opened at the town council’s Monday, April 3 meeting. The exact cost of the project will not be known until the bids are opened and one is accepted.
The project will include demolition, rehabilitation and repair of the street and pedestrian network within the 25-lot development. Among the items the contractor will do include striping, curb replacement, sidewalk replacement, storm sewer repairs, valve and manhole adjustments and pavement repairs.
Getting to this point has been a long process for the residents of Chestnut Crossing, a 12-acre subdivision adjacent to the Dogfish Head brewery.
About 10 years ago, a punch list was developed by the town’s engineers, Pennoni Associates, with construction items that needed to be completed before the streets could be dedicated to the town, which would then be responsible for maintenance.
Atlantic Land Development LLC, the developer at that time, disagreed with the list and nothing was completed. The developer eventually became insolvent, and the homeowners were left trying to figure out how the punch list would be completed. The town has about $73,000 from the development’s completion bond to finish the work, but increases in costs over the last decade have seen the prices of the punch list items rise to an estimated $323,000. Many items, such as brick pavers, benches and gazebos, were stripped out of the plans to lower costs to the town by $100,000.
Much of the maintenance in the development, such as grass cutting in common areas and electric bill for streetlights, has fallen on the community homeowners association.
In April 2022, residents went to the town council about completing the punch list. In February, the planning and zoning commission approved a new plat plan for the development, which paved the way for repairs to move forward. Council sent out a request for proposals, and sealed bids were received March 21.
Ryan Mavity covers Milton and the court system. He is married to Rachel Swick Mavity and has two kids, Alex and Jane. Ryan started with the Cape Gazette all the way back in February 2007, previously covering the City of Rehoboth Beach. A native of Easton, Md. and graduate of Towson University, Ryan enjoys watching the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Capitals and Baltimore Orioles in his spare time.
