Phase 1 of Chester’s Main Street Project was completed this past spring—”very successfully,” according to First Selectman Lauren Gister—”We think that the majority of the people who were affected by it are mostly pleased with how it came out.” Now, before the project moves on to the next phase, input is needed.

The Chester Main Street Project Committee, which for several years has helped plan and coordinate the project, earlier this month put up a survey on the town’s website www.chesterct.org to gauge residents’ reactions to the work so far.

“This is a project for the whole town and we want as much input and coordination with the residents as we can get,” said Gister. “We kind of need to stop and take the pulse of the town to see how we’re doing.”

Residents are encouraged to comment about what they like—or don’t like—about the finished section of Main Street, as well as the State of Connecticut’s recently completed bridge project at Main Street and Route 148 (Phase 2).

“That is just absolutely beautiful,” said Gister of the bridge. “It was done because it needed to be done, but in conjunction with that there have been a lot of upgrades to the streetscape there.”

Phase 1 encompassed the stretch of Main Street from Laurel Hill Cemetery to School Lane. The town installed new photocell lighting that comes on automatically, wider sidewalks, five additional spaces in one of its parking lots, granite curbing, and new bridge rails, and also repaved the road.

“We did it in conjunction with the Connecticut Water Company to replace the water main,” Gister said. “It really looks very beautiful down there.”

The town is encouraging feedback on Phase 1 as well as suggestions for Phase 3. After all, it’s been a while since the public was last consulted. The master plan was created in 2013, with the help of many residents who attended public hearings and the town meeting where the plan was voted on.

With the help of that public input, the Main Street Project Committee worked with civil engineer Nathan Jacobson of Chester and Kent + Frost Landscape Architecture of Mystic to come up with the design.

The total cost of Phase 1 amounted to slightly less than $1,111,000.

“It came in slightly higher than estimated, but lower than we had set aside available funds, so we were right on track,” said Gister.

The most recent estimated cost for Phase 3 is approximately $2.2 million. This coming project will revitalize the town center from the newly refurbished bridge to Laurel Hill Cemetery, connecting to the section already completed in Phase 1.

“The general design of it is what was put together in 2013,” said Gister. “Now what we’re doing is the prep work for the final design and engineering—property surveys and that kind of thing—as well as seeking funding for paying for it because it will be quite an expensive project.”

As for funding, the town is hoping to receive two state grants, including a Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of up to $500,000. Although it did not successfully win the grant this year, the grant can be reapplied for each year. Some funding is already secured. Chester is on the list to receive a Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) grant, probably in fiscal year 2018 or 2019. In total, the town is hoping to fund about 85 to 90 percent of Phase 3 through grant money.

“We’re trying to be very, very careful about being fiscally responsible and not spending money...going forward with this project until we know where the money is coming from,” Gister said. “I think it’s probably going to be at least a year and a half to two years, based on the needs of engineering and design and then the receipt of funds or promise of funds, and then we have to go out to bid and get a contract.”

Phase 3 should look a lot like Phase 1. However, since it deals with the section of Main Street in front of the stores and restaurants, the work will require great care and includes some engineering challenges, as well. Main Street in Chester has been paved so many times over the years that the curb in front of the shops in downtown Chester isn’t high enough to hold back water from heavy rainfall. To solve this problem, crews will try and reclaim some of the road before it’s repaved, and also install new granite curbing.

“A great deal of the Main Street Project has been updating and upgrading the drainage,” said Gister.

With a goal of improved aesthetics as well as an upgrade to necessary infrastructure, the project should be a welcome change in town.

For more information or to take the survey, visit www.chesterct.org.