LEBANON — The City Council last week unanimously approved a design for a project intended to widen a section of Trues Brook Road and replace an aging bridge over Bloods Brook with a wider span.

The $4 million project near the intersection with Derby Lane will replace a bridge the state has determined is structurally deficient. A state inspection in 2023 found a serious deterioration of the bridge’s concrete deck.

The existing bridge is only 17½-feet wide and does not have shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists. The new bridge will have a total width of 32 feet, including two 11-foot vehicle lanes and two 5-foot wide shoulders.

The project also will widen the roadway for 1,000 feet from each end of the bridge, including the 5-foot wide shoulders.

City officials plan to put the project out to bid by the end of the year and to begin construction in 2025. If it stays on schedule, the bridge should be completed in the summer of 2026.

To keep Trues Brook Road open during construction, a temporary bridge will be built over the brook. A federal grant — the Municipally Owned Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or MOBIL — will cover the full cost of construction, which is currently estimated at $3.5 million.

The state is covering 80% of the roughly $500,000 engineering cost, with a 20% match coming from the city.