A recently approved contract by Bridgeport City Council for work in the downtown corridor that is currently underway calls for much more than just power washing and sealing downtown sidewalks.

 

The near $100,000 project that is expected to take several weeks to complete was awarded to CK Service, LLC, for $97,295.40 at the June 22 meeting. The approval came with a 10 percent contingency (total of $107,024.94).

 

“They’re replacing just about all of the caulking that’s in bad shape from Main Street clear down to almost first street,” said Interim City Manager Joe Shuttleworth while updating Council at its most recent meeting. “It does include power washing of the sidewalks on both sides of the street from Viriginia Avenue all the way to Route 131 (which is the intersection with Oliverio’s Ristorante).”

All the brick paving along the corridor will also be sealed by the contractors. Also, all the retaining walls through the downtown corridor will be soft washed and then they will be sealed,” Shuttleworth said.

 

For the past two weeks, contractor have spent days laboriously removing the caulking as they have progressed from past the Civic Center past Center Street and beyond.

 

The successful bid and beginning of the work come on the heels of a failed first attempt by the city to get a contractor. During the first advertised process, only one contractor bid and the bid did not meet specifications, which led to the second bid that was before Council in June. This time, four contractors bid on the project with CK Services being the responsible low bidder.

 

When finished contractor will clean approximately 59,800 square feet of concrete sidewalks. They will also have sealed approximately 8,800 square feet of decorative stamped concrete.

 

Editor's Note: Photos show workers doing some of the tedious work along Main Street last week.