MINOT — Town Administrator Arlan Saunders told selectmen Tuesday that the town highway crew has completed all work on the Shaw Hill Road culvert upgrade project.

“The crew did the shouldering today. I need to get the paving invoices paid to submit the final amount for reimbursement. It looks like we came in under budget by between $500 and $800,” Saunders said.

The town used a mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $38,507 of the project’s total original estimate of $51,343. The money paid to replace two existing culverts with a single 50-foot, 6- by 8-foot box culvert that’s open on the bottom to allow Indian Brook to flow as naturally as possible under Shaw Hill Road.

The town’s road crew was able to complete the work with minimal inconvenience to local drivers. The road was closed for four days.

The new culvert should eliminate periodic flooding that has caused frequent road closings and damage.

Saunders said that he expects to meet with FEMA officials on Sept. 24 for final project inspection.

Saunders also reported that the town’s summer paving work, which included doing the few hundred feet of Shaw Hill Road affected by the culvert project, is complete. The program focused on the Jackass Annie and Mountain roads and had originally intended to include doing Prospect Avenue in the same area.

Selectmen also met with Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins, who, in addition to presenting a summary of the department’s Minot service calls, explained the department’s move to replace much of its communication equipment with $100,000 from county contingency funds.

Desjardins also publicly thanked selectmen for their letter in support for keeping the county communication center in the County Building.

Saunders also announced that the winter sand bids are out with the same specification for materials used by MDOT. Bids are due by Sept. 17 with a required sample for testing.

The price for road salt, Saunders reported, is down $2.70 per ton.

The town is scheduled to purchase 800 tons of salt at $58.83 per ton, according to the bid price received by Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments.