The long-held vision of a connector road to bypass one of the Island’s worst traffic spots, the Edgartown-State Road intersection in Tisbury, might finally be just one town meeting vote away from realization.

This Tuesday’s Tisbury special town meeting will be asked to approve construction of the bypass, and work could begin within months. Voters also will be asked to authorize the board of selectmen to apply for funding, so, with a little luck, the project can be completed at no further cost to town residents.

Yesterday, the cochairman of the Tisbury planning board, Henry Stephenson, said town officials were very hopeful of getting funding for the entire remaining cost of the road through a state Public Works Economic Development Program grant.

Application is yet to be made, of course, but Mr. Stephenson said such grants cover up to 90 per cent of project costs.

The town will be seeking $3.6 million from the state to construct the road. It will run from a point on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road near Island Food Products, bypassing the commercial stretch of State Road and rejoining State Road through High Point Road and Holmes Hole Road.

It is expected all the necessary easements will be negotiated and the necessary environmental studies will be completed by the end of this month.

Construction will include a cycling/walking path as well.

“Hopefully, the meeting will approve this, and the selectmen can apply for the grant. It should only take a couple of months and work could begin by the fall.”

A third section of the proposed bypass, off Evelyn Way, is not, however, included in the current project. Mr. Stephenson said there still were some ownership and title problems to solve.

The final approval of the connector road plan is perhaps the most substantial matter up for consideration on this year’s 13-article special meeting warrant.

But it is far from the longest.

That is Article 12, which runs to almost two pages of proposed amendments to Section 9.05 of the zoning bylaws relating to the town’s flood and storm districts.

The article amounts to a piece of bureaucratic housekeeping, but it is important nonetheless.

If it doesn’t go through, he said, the town and its people have insurance problems, and the town also could have difficulty accessing some federal grants.

As the other cochair of the planning board, Anthony Peak, explained, it was really just a matter of bringing the wording of the relevant town bylaw into accordance with that of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Apart from the two articles relating to the connector road, there is another article which, if passed, will go some way to making Tisbury a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians. It proposes the acquisition “through gift, purchase or eminent domain” of land for the construction of a path running from Beach Road near Saltwater restaurant around Lagoon Pond to Lagoon Pond Road.

Article 10 would allow the selectmen to negotiate a utility easement to GPCS Fiber Communications for its proposed fiber optic cable between the Island and the mainland. The company proposes to install a facility underground at Tashmoo Beach, where the line would come ashore.

The meeting also will consider a request from the selectmen to approve a small easement on town land so NStar and Verizon can provide services to some new affordable housing units off Lambert’s Cove Road.

Article 13 proposes changes to tighten the zoning bylaws applying to accessory apartments attached to private houses, and article six seeks approval of the provisions of state legislation establishing a pooled trust for all public employers in Dukes County to meet the cost of the retirement benefits, mostly health care benefits, of former employees.

Warrant articles related to animal control historically provide for vigorous debate at town meetings. This year’s potential trigger is a proposal to establish a penalty schedule for those who violate the town’s prohibition of dogs in municipal buildings.

As suggested on the warrant, a first offence would attract a warning; each subsequent offence would incur a $25 fine.

The warrant also includes a number of housekeeping articles.

The special town meeting will be held at the Tisbury School gymnasium, beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 6.