EASTON – Local residents offered positive comments and focused on a few minor concerns during a Department of Transportation public hearing on planned improvements to Conant Road, according to a DOT official.

The residents who attended the meeting Tuesday night at Easton Elementary School voiced concerns about whether DOT would match the road to driveways and what would happen to mailboxes. At the same time they said they were pleased with the planned improvements, Deryle Sponberg, DOT project manager for Division 1 regional programs, said Thursday.

The work on Conant Road is the second of a three-part project to upgrade the Easton-area corridor, which includes Route 1A, Route 10 and Conant, Richardson and Station roads.

The improvements discussed at the public hearing include work on 2 miles of Conant Road from Route 1A to Station Road.

Sponberg described the coming work as a heavy pavement-rehabilitation project.

DOT will correct two horizontal curves on the road, which are extremely sharp and will be flattened. Drainage, ditching and shoulder work will also be done, he said, as will improvements to the intersection of Conant Road and Route 1A. DOT plans to increase the radius for turning truck traffic and improve the road shoulders at the intersection.

Sponberg said the cost of this second part of project is estimated at $980,000 and the project will be put out to bid in March. DOT officials plan to have construction started in May and completed by September.

The project manager said the Conant Road work has been on DOT’s list since spring 2003 as part of its corridor upgrade project.

The first stage of the project ended this summer, when improvements to Station and Richardson roads, as well as a section on Route 10 from Route 1A to Richardson Road, were completed.

Sponberg said that DOT plans to complete the last phase of the project in 2005. Work includes improvements to Station Road and the intersection of Route 10 and the Conant Road.

He said the work is being done to upgrade the roadways for the Huber and McCain’s plants in Easton, as well as to get the portion of road “up to DOT standards.”

The total cost of the three-part project, which covers 12 miles of roads, is estimated at $5 million.

Sponberg said the project could have been $12 million to $15 million if full construction were done. Instead, DOT is recycling the pavement and putting a new surface on it. He said new technology allows the department to rehabilitate roads while making pavement that lasts. The completed roads have a life expectancy of 12 years, he said.

“This way, we can cover more miles with less money,” he said.