Downtown Mystic Paving Will Go Into July

Groton Town Officials acknowledged Tuesday night that major aspects of the Mystic Streetscape Project will continue until July, past the June 30 deadline. 

According to the Mystic River Press, at Tuesday’s special meeting of the Groton Town Council Town Manager Mark Oefinger “said that the paving of the downtown streets is now expected to continue into July as well.”

Paving of some side streets is set to begin on of for Thursday, June 28. The scheduled end date for the paving was Friday, June 29. However, according to the Mystic River Press, Oefinger told the Groton Town Council that rain last week and Monday delayed some of the work the paving subcontractor had elsewhere and that work needs to be finished before the subcontractor comes to Mystic.

Even before the news of the delayed paving Mystic Streetscape Project Manager Rick Norris had said some . That work, however, was expected to cause minor to no traffic congestion unlike the paving, which will cause partial street closures and alternating one-way traffic.

The streetscape project, , but has suffered delays and coincided with bridge repair and a recession.

Downtown Mystic business owners have said the and jeopardizing the health of the downtown Mystic. They pleaded with the Groton Town Council earlier this month to delay they project until after the summer. The town has said that if it puts the such as rising labor costs.

In effort to lure shoppers back to downtown Mystic the Groton Town Council agreed to use town funds to pay for .