Common Council Special Meeting on Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Amendment to Cardinal Engineering Contract – June 1, 2026
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Common Council Special Meeting on Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project and Proposed Amendment to Cardinal Engineering Contract – June 1, 2026
The Middletown Common Council held a special hybrid meeting on June 1, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the Council Chamber and via WebEx. The sole purpose was to receive a presentation and conduct a question-and-answer session regarding the Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project and a proposed amendment to the city’s contract with Cardinal Engineering for design services. No votes on the amendment were taken during this informational meeting.
Discussion Items
- Project Presentation: Brian Gardner, Acting Deputy Director of Public Works, delivered a detailed presentation covering the project’s history, funding, design challenges, and revised scope. Key points included:
- The project originates from the 2013 Complete Streets Master Plan prioritizing Saybrook Road.
- The road is in poor condition, lacks sidewalks, and has no safe pedestrian crossings; a well-worn path indicates heavy foot traffic.
- The original plan (2016) was ambitious, widening the road and adding bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides, but required 39 property easements—most unattainable. Cost escalation from $2 million (2019) to $5.78 million (2022) due to inflation and added Wall Street work.
- The revised plan (March 2025) eliminates bike lanes, eliminates the east-side sidewalk south of Wall Street, and removes all Wall Street work except a short connection. It instead proposes a 10-foot-wide bituminous concrete multi-use trail on the west side, milling and overlaying existing pavement except at intersections requiring full-depth reconstruction, and replacing the east-side sidewalk with extruded concrete curbing.
- Property impacts reduced from 39 to 8 properties (one partial take, one signal easement, six slope easements, two sidewalk easements).
- Construction cost estimated at $5–$5.3 million (preliminary). Funding includes $3.7 million from the state Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) through River COG, with the city covering design and non-participating costs. Design costs for the amendment are approximately $200,000, funded from the city’s enforcement program proceeds.
- Crash data from UConn shows over 50 crashes in a five-year period at intersections along the corridor, particularly at Wall Street, Stop & Shop driveway, and East Main Street.
- The project limits remain unchanged: from Tryon Street to East Main Street (near Walgreens).
- Council Questions: Councilwoman Linda Salafia questioned the lack of detail on how traffic light intersections would be reconfigured, stating she needed a visual plan before approval. Mr. Gardner explained the intersections would be widened slightly to add proper turning lanes but acknowledged no detailed design yet. He offered to provide a preliminary schematic. The mayor clarified that the amendment before the council only funds the final design work leading to a public forum; no construction approval was sought at this meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The special meeting concluded with a motion (Councilwoman Blackwell, second Councilwoman Fulton) to adjourn the workshop. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. The council then moved to a regular “questions of directors” agenda item.
- No vote was taken on Amendment 9 to the Cardinal Engineering contract. The council indicated they would receive further information before any decision.
Meeting Transcript
And Councilwoman Spitola, if you could lead us in the pledge. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right. Thank you. Everyone that's here. And who do we have online? Um Councilman John Polino is online. Okay. All right. So I have our Council Clerk read the call of the meeting, please. The Chief of Police of the City of Middletown, greetings. By authority of the state of Connecticut, you are hereby commanded to summon and notify Vincent J. Lafredo, Jeanette Blackwell, Darnell Ford, Grady Faulkner Jr., Kelly Sweeney, Anthony Mangiofico, Linda Salafia, Anthony S. Gennaro Sr. Jonathan Polino, Leslie Spitola, Chine Fulton, Ava M. Hart, members of the Common Council of the City of Middletown, to attend a special meeting of said common council for the purpose of hearing a presentation, including a council member question and answer session regarding the Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project and the proposed amendment of the city's project contract with Cardinal Engineering. Said meeting shall be a hybrid meeting to be held in the council chamber of the municipal building in said city and remotely via web exit, join a meeting, event 23477594857 on Monday, June 1st, 2026 at 5 30 p.m. Hereof fail not but make due service and return to the clerk of said city three hours prior to the time of fixed meeting. City of Middletown, May 28th, 2026. I hereby certify that I have delivered an attested copy of the foregoing order and attached agenda of the Common Council meeting to each and every council member named above via electronic mail, attested by Captain Michael DeSena, Middletown Police. All right, thank you. And now tonight's meeting is a special meeting on Sabrick Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project. And I have uh Brian Gardner, who is our acting deputy, director of public works, who's gonna run through some slides to explain the history. I just want to point out that the current plan under the directorship of Howard Weisberg was redone and um because we had run into so many problems and was unanimously approved to go forward, but then it slowed down again. So I'm gonna let Brian explain the entire uh history of this project that we hope to get started soon. So long overdue. Thank you, Your Honor, and thank you, members of the council, for the opportunity to present this evening on the Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project. I uh assembled a PowerPoint presentation for the council this evening. And uh once that is cued up and ready, we can start walking through those slides. All right. And uh the City of Middletown's Complete Streets Master Plan, dated March 2013, lists Saybrook Road as a priority to incorporate complete. Right, you might want to move closer to that mic, so everything gets recorded properly. Not a problem. I can start over again as well. Uh the City of Middletown's Complete Streets Master Plan, dated March 2013, lists Saybrook Road as a priority project to incorporate complete streets policies. The current challenges that we're faced with Saybrook Road now and in 2013 when this study was assembled. Area residents use Saybrook Road to walk to the shopping plaza as evidenced by a well-worn path on the side of the road. So next time you guys are in that corridor, uh, especially by the gas station on the um east side of the road. There is a very well-worn path that actually cuts through a telephone pole past the bush. I mean, it's about nay wide that folks are trying to uh come through. Um I go through that corridor often, as does the mayor and many others, and there's always folks walking on the side of the road. There is no safe passage for people uh to get from the shopping plaza to the school to the apartments. Um there's a lot going on in that area, and there's just no safe passage. Uh elementary school children that walk to school need to cross Saybrook Road. Yet again, there is no provisions for crosswalks, there's no sidewalks, there's no safe way uh to accommodate this movement. Uh Saybrook Road itself is in poorer condition, and it requires resurfacing. Uh Water and Sewer did a project a few years ago that was anticipated to be followed up with a project from the public works department.
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