Groton City to award seawall contract

— The City Council on Monday Groton is slated to vote on awarding a contract to rebuild the Shore Avenue seawall to Arborio Corp., a Cromwell-based company.

The cost is not to exceed $4,132,136, which includes 15% for contingency.

City Mayor Keith Hedrick said the seawall needs to be replaced. He said the primary purpose of the project is to protect the road, which the seawall holds up and which already has shown evidence of cracking.

He said the existing seawall was built with granite blocks and has a concrete façade, but the concrete was not pinned into the bedrock and waves are washing underneath.

“If the seawall fails, the potential for the road to collapse is high,“he said.

Hedrick said the project will be funded through a $2.7 million state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection grant, $1.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, and funds from the city’s non-recurring capital fund.

He added that there is no imminent danger of a collapse, but the city has been working on the project for a long time and the situation is not getting any better. The seawall needs to be replaced to fix that road.

Hedrick said once the council grants final approval, the city will start meeting with the construction team.

The Request for Proposals for the project requested a six-month construction timeline.

“We’re hoping to get it started sooner than later,” Hedrick said.

Once the construction schedule and traffic impacts are determined, the city will share the information with residents and the public.

At the March 25 Committee of the Whole meeting, Hedrick said the city interviewed the two lowest bidders. Heidi Comeau, public works services coordinator, said GZA GeoEnvironmental, which was hired as a construction administration group, helped the city review and compare bids, was part of the interview process and helped the city narrow down candidates.

Comeau said Arborio is the lowest qualified contractor and the city is recommending the company as the

contractor.

The council voted on March 25 to move the item to Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Municipal Building and via Zoom.

In addition to this project, Hedrick said the city plans to issue a request for proposals in the future for engineering studies to determine how to fortify the coastline to help control flooding on Shore Avenue. k.drelich@theday.com