HERMON – After much grumbling and finger-pointing, residents voted to spend, during Thursday night’s special town meeting, $95,000 in order to complete the Billings Road construction project now under way.

The project, which initially carried a budget of $451,500, is about $133,200 over budget, said Town Manager Clint Deschene. Billings Road is a state-owned roadway, which means the state expects to pay two-thirds of the original budget cost and the town would assume the remainder.

Residents had to decide Thursday whether to finish the project and swallow the costs, or stop construction and risk not receiving state funds.

“If you do not finish [this project] then the state won’t pay a penny,” Deschene said.

The Billings Road reconstruction, which extends from Clark Road to Fuller Road, has been in the works since 2003, Deschene said.

The project is locally administered, meaning the town, not the state, bid out the construction company and hired the engineering firm. This process has saved Hermon a lot of money in previous town-state road projects, Deschene said. Lane Construction Corp. was the lowest bidder for the project, at approximately $398,000, and the James W. Sewall Co. was hired as the engineering firm.

But on Thursday, residents were told that construction crews encountered additional ledge that drove costs up. They also were told about extra engineering fees and other unforeseen construction expenses.

Several residents said they were most concerned by the additional charges from Sewall. The Old Town company estimated a $52,000 project increase to compensate for full-time clerical services at the construction site, which was required by the state, Deschene said.

“I have a problem with Sewall Company,” Councilor Donald Shepley said. “They have an insurance policy, they should be paying the difference.”

Deschene said he spoke with Sewall about the issue and the company vowed to take all steps to reduce costs.

In the end, voters agreed to fund $95,000, reducing the requested amount by about the $52,000 owed Sewall. Voters never specified, however, how the money would be disbursed.