Darien Town Hall Paving Project Went $35K Over Budget: Here's Why

DARIEN, CT — The recently completed paving project in the Darien Town Hall ran roughly $35,000 over budget, so the selectmen on Monday unanimously voted to approve the transfer of funds from the town's paving program to cover the increased cost.

Director of Public Works Ed Gentile went before the board to request the transfer of $35,578. Monday's selectmen meeting is available to watch on demand on DarienTV.

The paving project had an original budget of $100,000. During milling, crews encountered gravelly areas with insufficient asphalt depth.

"We found it through over half the site as we were doing this. We significantly went over in the asphalt use... It pushed us up to about $35,000 over budget," Gentile told the board. There were also other sections where the pavement was nearly 6 inches thick.

"This project was in motion without the ability to stop and come back for additional funds. I do apologize for that," Gentile said.

The project was completed about a month ago.

The selectmen's approval sent the item to the Board of Finance, which is scheduled to meet on Nov. 17.