Stow hears DPW update as low bid for 2026 paving comes in at $533,668

At a Select Board meeting, DPW Director Dan Raley presented the town's 2026 roadway improvements program and said five bids were opened for a package that includes mill-and-overlay, reclamation and related drainage/driveway repairs. "We had 5 bids, with the lowest coming in at $533,668.50," Raley said, adding the low bidder, Mass Broken Stone, has worked in Stow before.

Raley told the board his preliminary estimate for the full package was about $985,156.83 and said he had intentionally used a conservative number amid asphalt and fuel price uncertainty. He said Chapter 90 funds will pay a large share of the work and that the town also received supplemental state allocations in recent years that raised available Chapter 90 funding.

The project list presented to the board includes two sections of Hudson Road, portions of Boxborough Road, a section of Taylor Road slated for full-depth reclamation, and several smaller roads financed at prior town meetings. Raley said, if contracts can be negotiated, he may expand the program this year to include additional sections of Boxborough Road; otherwise he will seek other projects in a later solicitation.

Raley described the town's use of a pavement-management plan from Beta Group and automated road-scanning technology from Civil AI, which produces segment-level condition ratings and recommended treatments. "With that, as you start having budget numbers, you can really work through different scenarios," he said, and said the town will pursue more preventive maintenance such as crack filling to extend pavement life.

Board members pressed on the gap between the engineer estimate and the low bid; Raley cited volatility in asphalt pricing and said the town has had positive experience with the low bidder. Members also discussed porous pavement, winter maintenance alternatives (including industry additives), and whether the Chapter 90 allotment could support additional work if low bids leave funds available.

Next steps: Raley said the town is in the process of awarding contracts and expects construction work this summer into the fall. He told the board he will return in the fall with Beta Group to present scenario modeling showing how preservation spending now changes future capital needs.