Windham, N.H., residents still don't know how they will pay for a required secondary access road to the new high school.

But now, at least, they have some options to review and can see what those options would cost.

Twice before, voters rejected bond issues to pay for a 24-foot wide paved access road at the former site of London Bridge Road. Perhaps now, town officials can decide on a road option the voters will support.

Action is needed soon. The new high school is scheduled to open in August 2009 and it could take as long as eight months to build the secondary access road. Fire Chief Tom McPherson, citing safety concerns, has insisted he will not permit the school to open without the second road.

Having been twice rebuffed by voters on a $1.25 million bond for the road, the Board of Selectmen solicited bids on four alternatives without having a definite plan in place to pay for any of them.

This actually is something the selectmen should have done long ago. It gives the public the opportunity to see what the alternatives are and how much they would cost. At least some of the opposition to the bond proposals could be attributed to a lack of faith among voters that town leaders had looked at other options.

Now, thanks in part to a sluggish construction market that produced a higher than expected number of bids, town officials and voters have some hard numbers to consider.

The four proposals were:

A 24-foot wide, paved road with drainage and conduits for future utilities — essentially the same proposal defeated twice at the polls. The bids ranged from $728,510 to $1.3 million.

A 24-foot gravel road with drainage and conduits. Bids ranged from $570,772 to $1.1 million.

A 24-foot gravel road without drainage or conduits. Bids ranged from $357,500 to $857,000.

A 20-foot gravel road without drainage or conduits. Bids ranged from $331,000 to $856,700.

Town officials will analyze the bids in the next few weeks before deciding to take any action. We urge them to keep the public informed and involved in the process.

That's the only way to win public support for financing the road, whichever option they choose.