VAN BUREN – Violette Street’s reconstruction, a more than $760,000 project, could start next week for completion next summer.

The project is funded by the town, a grant from the Community Development Block Grant Program and a grant and loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program.

“It’s a complete street rehabilitation project,” Daniel Lapointe, the town’s economic development director, said Monday. “It’s been … in need of work for years, but we did not have the money for the underground work.

“We will be installing new storm drains, new waterlines and regrade and hot top the street,” he said.

When the half-mile-long project is complete, less storm water runoff will flow into the sewer plant, he said.

Many homes in the area have drains to remove water from their land, and the drains are connected to the town’s sewer system. That runoff will be rerouted to the new underground storm drains.

Funding for the $760,000 project includes a $500,000 grant from CDBG and a nearly $200,000 grant and $100,000 loan from Rural Development.

Bids were opened two weeks ago, and Ed Pelletier Construction Co. of Madawaska will be doing the work. Lapointe expects that machinery will start arriving at the site this week, and work will start shortly after that.

Violette Street is a residential area that connects to Route 1, Van Buren’s Main Street.

Lapointe said storm drain inadequacy was the impetus behind the project. Whenever storm water flooded the sewer system, the town would get into problems with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The project is expected to alleviate those problems of overflows at the plant.

Lapointe said the street had not been repaved in many years, in anticipation of getting money to repair the underground infrastructure.

He expects that work this fall will continue as long as the weather holds up. The remainder of the project will be completed in the spring, with new pavement to be laid down next summer.