Westport Island selectmen have reached a deal with Pine Tree Engineering for engineering work on the sand and salt shed project. The agreement was signed Monday evening.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pine Tree Engineering will update the design drawings, create contract and technical specifications and administer the construction activity. This includes bidding and advertising the project as well as providing ongoing reports to the town. The contract price is $10,000.

The structure is 52.6’ by 101.5’ with laminated wood arches and is expected to reduce the cost of providing sand and salt for the island’s roads by allowing the town to purchase in bulk and store the material. It is hoped that construction will be completed before winter.

The shed will move forward after years of discussion and debate. In June, former selectman Jack Swanton noted the delays, saying, “This has been a political football in this town for ten years.”

Voters approved raising $150,000 to construct the facility and borrowing up to $150,000 to operate it. Westport Island resident and president of Chesterfield Associates, Inc., E. Davies Allan, offered to donate all site work, estimated at $25,000.

The Department of Environmental Protection granted approval for the project in 2002 and again in 2005 and a contract with Pine Tree Engineering was signed in 2007.