BOLTON — After seven years of construction and a number of false starts and changes, the massive $22 million “Big Dig” sewer project around Bolton Lake is finally complete, officials say.
First Selectman Robert Morra said the project, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bolton Lakes Region Water Pollution Control Authority, “surprisingly did not go over budget.”
Morra, who is chairman of regional sewer authority board, said he hopes to have a formal “closing out” ceremony in the coming weeks with all the local, state, and federal dignitaries who made the project possible.
“We’re just literally tying up a couple of loose ends on the financial side,” he said. “Quite frankly, it was one of those projects that was so unique in the state and required so much cooperation between so many agencies. It doesn’t happen that often.”
The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the homes around Lower and Middle Bolton Lakes to be connected to sewers as many of the septic systems were failing. The work was funded primarily with state and federal grants and low-interest loans.
New sewer lines were laid around the lakes and along the Route 44 corridor through Bolton Notch, connecting to Manchester’s sewage-treatment system.
The five-phase project affected about 360 Bolton homes and 140 Vernon residences that must tie into the lines feeding Manchester’s water-treatment plant.
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