For the second time in less than a year, construction work will soon begin on a major sewer and water line extension project in Johnston.
At a meeting held at the Johnston Municipal Court Tuesday morning, about 30 property owners, developers and residents gathered for information regarding the Hartford Avenue infrastructure project. While an exact date of when construction would begin was not given, representatives from the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC) said that work to add nearly 5,400 linear feet of piping would start shortly.
“I’m quite excited with this project. Johnston is going to be put on the map for a lot of good things, and this is going to put us on the map for commercial development,” said Mayor Joseph Polisena during the meeting, adding that the project will open over 150 acres for businesses that would depend upon sewer and water improvements.
The Hartford Avenue construction area will be from just east of 295 to Bellfield Drive. Construction hours will be from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, however crews are also authorized to work on Saturdays if necessary. Work will center around the northernmost lane of Hartford Avenue for the sewer project, which is the right hand lane while traveling west.
According to Rick Bernier, director of construction at NBC, work is expected to be completed by the end of the construction season, before 2018. He stated that NBC will soon be contacting property owners along the project area to discuss where they would like to have connections placed.
Next spring, work on the water lines portion of the project will begin. If everything goes according to plan, by next November all work, including the repaving of Hartford Avenue, will be completed. However, repaving of the state road will extend well beyond the project area.
“The project entails resurfacing Hartford Avenue starting in Scituate at Danielson Pike heading east, and we’re going to end that project at the intersection of 295 southbound,” said Jay McGinn, Project Manager with the Department of Transportation. He added that the Route 295 bridges over Hartford Avenue are also slated to be repaired, with a project bid set to be announced in September.
The DOT also plans to clean drainage pipes and replacing those in poor condition. They’ve identified a problem area near Curreri Collision where water bubbles up to the surface year-round, which will be corrected. McGinn said that the DOT added the water line extension to their repaving project at the expense of the town, which is paying for that cost directly.
Once the entire extension project is completed, NBC will own the sewer lines and Johnston will own the water lines. Assessment costs remain unclear, however, for those property owners along the extension project.
“We have not come up with an assessment yet, but we’re working on it and that should be in the next month or so that we would know how this will be parceled out,” said Bernier of NBC.
“It’ll be a fair and equitable solution for everyone, I can promise you that,” added Polisena.
NBC advertised a sewer line extension project for Hartford Avenue in April and the low bidder was D’Ambra Construction at about $1.65 million. In July, the Town Council approved an ordinance to borrow up to $2,435,000 for the installation of new water lines and upgraded meter, along with athletic facility improvements.
“I just think it’s a great project and we can move forward and we’ll see that area developed,” said Councilman Robert Civetti, who represents that section of town.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here