TALENT — Work on a downtown project to connect East Main Street with West Valley View Road will continue this year with construction from Talent Avenue to the new Seiber Street, a smaller project than originally planned.

Pilot Rock Excavation Inc. produced the winning bid of $282,643 and will begin work on Monday, Aug. 20.

The project will start with Talent Avenue and its tie-in with Lapree Street so that buses won't be impacted when school begins, said Marla Cates, executive director of the Talent Urban Renewal Agency.

Work should be substantially completed by the end of October, she said.

In June, the TURA board rejected bids to build from Talent Avenue to West Valley View over just two seasons after the lowest bid came in $138,000 over engineering estimates of $760,000.

Sidewalks, bikes lanes, lighting and planter boxes will be installed in addition to the road work. Pilot Rock also built Seiber Street, which was the first phase of the project.

Cates said she would confer later this year with the TURA board on the timing of the next phase, which involves extending Main Street from Seiber Street to a roundabout at West Valley View Road. The final phase will include a plaza, parking and a bus stop west of the roundabout.