September 1st, 2022 by WCBC Radio

City officials are keeping their fingers crossed that runaway inflation rates won’t wreck the budget in place for the Baltimore Street Access project. A mandatory pre-bid meeting for the Baltimore Street Access project was held Wednesday afternoon at City Hall- with final bids due September 21st. The scope of the project would include the reopening of Baltimore Street to one-way vehicular traffic; reconstruction of Liberty Street and Centre Street;  a full streetscape renovation;  and 18 parallel parking spaces, sidewalks, dining areas and plazas. The project was given the green light by the city council in 2016 with the initial cost estimate in the $3.5 to $5 million range. The most recent projections are in excess of $10 million. City engineer Bobby Smith acknowledges the project could easily come in over budget, but it’s difficult to speculate at this time…

If the bids are deemed too high, one option would be to scale back the project or to do it in phases, but Smith said that could create some push back from businesses and citizens alike…