NORTH SMITHFIELD – Mattity and Pound Hill Roads are set for major repairs with projects to be completed within the month, according to Public Works Director Raymond Pendergast.
Pendergast told members of the Town Council this week that the engineering is already complete for both roadways, with plans to fast track the work. The town allocated just under $1 million for road repair in last year’s budget, and must spend the funds by June 30 in order to qualify for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s current reimbursement program.
“We’ve got some major road reconstruction in the works,” Pendergast said at the council’s meeting on Monday, April 15. “We’re ready to go on a few streets right now.”
“The number one problem in town is roads,” he said. “I think we can all identify that.”
To complete the work, the DPW director asked for one year extensions of the town’s contracts with two vendors: North Kingstown-based T. Miozzi LLC and Lincoln-based Pare Corporation. He noted costs have increased for Miozzi from what the town has paid for the past two years, with the 2024 contract charging $4.15 per square yard for milling and $118 per ton to install asphalt.
“I’ll take it, because asphalt’s going through the roof right now,” Pendergast said. “Our engineers were telling us to be ready to pay $120-$124 a ton.”
Pendergast noted previously that road repair slated for last fall was delayed due to the excessively rainy season.
For Pare, he noted, “They bill us hourly for whatever we ask them to do. We really don’t need a lot engineered.”
Pendergast noted that Pare also provides oversight for the work.
“To move forward we at least need a one year extension for Pare to continue that work,” he said.
Funding for the projects will come from the Highway Department’s general budget. The director noted he currently has more than $900,000 in the account and is expecting a $355,000 reimbursement from RIDOT, which he’ll use to complete additional road work.
Gov. Dan McKee has proposed putting more state funding into the RIDOT reimbursement program for the coming fiscal year, but Pendergast noted the budget must still gain approval from money the General Assembly, leaving future refunds for work still uncertain.
Extensions for both contracts were passed unanimously.
