The replacement of two aging pedestrian bridges at Hedgehog Mountain was tabled by the Freeport Town Council at its Tuesday meeting when bids for the project came back at nearly double the expected price.

“The project is on hold,” said Town Manager Peter Joseph, noting that a contract decision had been tabled indefinitely at the Sept. 2 council meeting at Mallet Barn. “We plan to come back to it in the spring and hope to get it done this fiscal year.”

The replacement project came to the council at the request of the Conservation Commission two years ago, said Joseph, and $25,000 was appropriated in 2012 from the reserve capital account to carry out the design and construction of two pedestrian bridges.

The town issued a Request for Proposals July 30, bidding it out as a “design-build” project for engineering and construction services. Returning bids came in at approximately $48,000, said Joseph, nearly twice the cost estimated two years earlier.

“The town engineer will be working over the winter to design the project in house” said Joseph, “which should reduce the overall cost of the project.”

Hedgehog Mountain, which contains the highest point in Freeport, is a 196-acre parcel owned by the town with more than five miles of trails.

According to a town report, the pedestrian bridges are more than 20 years old and are in “poor condition.” One bridge is located approximately 70 feet from a trail entrance approximately a quarter of a mile from Pownal Road, and the second bridge is 240 feet further down the trail.

The project proposed to dispose of both old structures, which will go to the Recycling Center located nearby. The deck width of the new bridges are planned the increase to 6 feet in width, two feet wider than the existing bridges.

“The discussion is still open about whether there should be an 8- or 6-foot replacement, but we’re leaning toward a 6-foot width,” said Joseph.

The width difference does not generate a significant cost variance, said Joseph, noting that estimates for 4- foot-wide replacement bridges yielded only minor savings.

Pending replacement, the existing structures are “useable, but they’re old and they need work,” said Joseph. “From a safety perspective, there is railing work that needs to be done.”

Railing replacements will be performed by the Freeport Public Works Department this autumn and the work is not anticipated to require a trail closure.

When the bridges are replaced, a closure is expected, though the town has attempted in the bid to limit this closure to a maximum of two weeks during the construction phase.

“A couple of the councilors said, ‘Please, the Conservation Commision has been waiting for this,’ and they encouraged the town engineer and myself to get the bid out as soon as possible,” said Joseph. “So those are our marching orders right now.”

rgargiulo@timesrecord.com