A second phase of road construction on West Second Street in Seymour will cost the city less money than expected and should begin this spring.

Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman said Milestone Contractors of Columbus was awarded the contract for the work, which will widen and repave the street from Vehslage Road west to Springhill Road at The Crossing subdivision on the city’s far west side.

The engineer’s estimated cost for Phase II was $939,000, but Milestone’s bid came in at $681,648, or $257,352 less than original projections.

The project is being 80 percent funded through federal road money, with the city covering 20 percent of the cost with local tax revenue.

“Roughly, that shrinks our amount that we’ll have to pay to a little over $136,000 to widen that road,” Luedeman said. “So it’s a big savings to us.”

Luedeman said he thought the lower bid was due to competition between Milestone and Dave O’Mara Contractor in North Vernon.

Milestone completed the first phase of reconstruction from Lasher Drive west to Vehslage Road last summer. The company, along with the city and GAI Engineering, received recognition for the project in December from the Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana.

“Since Milestone had it before, I think they really wanted the second phase,” Luedeman said.

Just like the first phase, the old road will be taken out, and a new base of stone will go in as well as a storm sewer, gutter, new pavement and a sidewalk on the north side of the road.

Benefits of the project will be a wider road, new pedestrian facilities, improved storm water drainage and a smooth road surface free of potholes.

Luedeman said he wanted to extend the road improvements past Vehslage to benefit residents in that area.

Construction is scheduled to start in April, and the contract requires it to be completed by the end of October.

Read the story in Friday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.