ARLINGTON -- After eight years of planning, the Church Street Sidewalk Project began Monday as is expected to be done by the end of the year, according to Select Board member Cynthia Browning.

She said the first step has been excavating the existing sidewalk to form a level base. When complete, it will be mostly concrete except the stretch in front of the St. James Episcopal Church, across from the Town Hall, which will have marble fragments. The existing sidewalk had been made of marble, which cracked, Browning said. The curbs will also be made from granite.

The planning process began in 2004, she said, and the reason it has taken so long is because federal money is being used to fund 80 percent of the project. The town covers the other 20 percent. All told, the sidewalk project will cost an estimated $190,000.

Work will continue into the fall, she said, and will have to be completed in winter. Part of the reason for that is because of four linden trees growing in the path of the sidewalk will run in front of Dr. Michael Welther's office. Browning said five trees had been planted there years ago, with the money for them donated by people in memory of lost loved ones. One tree died on its own, and the plan for the remaining ones is to dig them up and move them back about seven feet.

She said the town will wait for the trees to go dormant in the cool weather, which increases their chances of survival.

Plans for what to do with the trees and how to incorporate

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the original marble of the sidewalk also factored into the length of time in getting the project going. Browning said it was necessary to move the trees in order to put a buffer between pedestrians and the road, as well as keep out of the state's right-of-way.

The project is similar to one done on East Arlington Road years before this project was planned, Browning said. That project gave a proper walking route to Arlington Memorial High School and Fisher Elementary School, as no sidewalk existed there before.