Repairs to the Milton library are set to begin Monday, July 23, part of a $330,000 project to rehabilitate the aging building.

Union Street will be closed July 23 as contractors begin mobilizing the barge required for the work. Construction will be staged from the municipal parking lot; sections of the lot will be fenced off and closed to the public for 90 days during construction. There will also be intermittent closures of Union Street during construction only a few minutes a day as the barge is resupplied with materials. Union Street will be closed a second time when construction wraps and contractors demobilize.

The project, funded by Sussex County, which owns the library, calls for a new bulkhead to stop the first floor from sinking into the Broadkill River. The existing bulkhead is compromised, county officials say, allowing soil erosion under the library’s foundation during high tides.

At the town council’s June 4 meeting, County Engineer Hans Medlarz said the barge used to do the work would be carried into town via a special transport and placed into the river. The library will remain open during construction, although the patio adjacent to the library will close. Access to the municipal parking lot will be from Mulberry Street.

The oldest section of the library building dates to 1912, with several additions over the years. The library has been operated by Sussex County since 1980.