LIVERMORE — Work on the 7,000-foot section of the River Road from Center Road to the Merrill farm area is expected to begin this week.

Selectmen last month awarded the $419,440 bid to Bruce A. Manzer of Anson. His was the lower of two bids submitted for the project. Residents approved the expenditure at the June 10 annual town meeting.

During budget deliberations earlier this spring, road Foreman Roger Ferland said the work would include grinding, replacing two culverts and building the road up anywhere from four inches to a foot in that part of River Road.

Administrative assistant Carrie Castonguay said at the selectboard meeting Monday night that the work would begin this week with a target start date of Wednesday. Drivers should be cautious and expect delays.

Castonguay also told the selectpersons that she received a letter of commendation regarding the town’s recycling program at the transfer station. Christina Bauman moved to Livermore in February 2015. She previously lived in Pittston and other places around the world, including California, Quebec and France.

Bauman said in an email, “What really impressed me about the town of Livermore is its recycling program.” Bauman has never seen a program such as Livermore’s and says it puts everything she has seen elsewhere to shame.

Bauman appreciated the patience and kindness of supervisor Juanita Bryant and attendant James Bryant. She also loved the eyeglasses recycling program.

In other business, selectpersons directed Castonguay to send a letter of intent to the state regarding building a new sand/salt shed. The timeline for that project began on June 1 and the town has 26 months from that date to have the building constructed and approved.

A one percent interest rate loan for construction of the shed is available through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The town would be reimbursed for about 37 percent of the costs by the Maine Department of Transportation.

The shed, as proposed, would be 60-by-120-feet with 4-foot frost walls to hold 3,600 yards of sand/salt mix. The 20-foot high walls would include 12 feet of cement. There would be scissor trusses, an exterior metal roof and sides.

At the annual town meeting in June, voters authorized spending $20,000 for the engineering and design work for the shed. They did not approve financing of up to $265,000 for the shed’s construction.

Newly elected selectperson Tom Gould was briefed on the status of the project and provided with background information. All selectpersons were encouraged to visit similar DEP/DOT-funded sheds in nearby towns so that next steps can be taken.

pharnden@sunmediagroup.net