WINDSOR

Selecting a contractor for the construction of long-awaited sidewalks from Church Street to the Holland Meadows housing development on Shiloh Drive in Windsor was supposed to occur this summer. But now, Town Manager Michael Stallings anticipates that an invitation for bids won’t go out until some time in October.

“We had to complete easement agreements with property owners, and complete permitting requirements with the Army Corps of Engineers,” Stallings said of the delay.

The sidewalk project — which was ranked in 2016 as the town’s No. 2 capital improvement priority, the No. 1 priority being the now-completed Windsor Town Center — appears to have been in the works at least since 2013, according to past Town Council agenda packets. According to Stallings, the town began the engineering work for the project during the 2016-2017 fiscal year and worked with Isle of Wight County to apply for revenue sharing funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

“The funds were awarded in this fiscal year’s cycle, so we slowed down the engineering work to fall in line with VDOT’s funding schedule,” he said.

In mid-2018, VDOT approved roughly $304,000 in funding for the project. Per the terms of the town’s memorandum of understanding with Isle of Wight County, the town will match that amount with local funding, and transfer the money to the county, which will administer the project. Once construction is complete, any unused funds will be transferred back to the town.