One of Delia’s biggest infrastructure projects in recent years is slated to begin this summer, which will shut down several blocks for up to two months.
The Village of Delia will be upgrading the sewer line on 1 Avenue and the southern-most block of Main Street and replacing the water main on the southern-most block of Main Street.
The project is the second, and largest, in a series to completely upgrade Delia’s aging sewer lines.
“We have a long-term plan to do all of the sewer lines in Delia. This is the second phase,” said Delia CAO Caroline Siverson. “Over time, everything going through the sewer starts to eat away at the cement pipes. Putting some new PVC will last longer and we’ll start a maintenance program.”
The Village will also be installing an asphalt overlay on Main Street between 1 Avenue and 4 Avenue.
“The sewer was done when they did the sewer project on Main Street, but it’s deteriorating quite badly, so this was a good opportunity to get that done. It’s always less expensive when you have a contractor here doing a lot of work,” said Siverson.
In addition, the project provides an opportunity to remove the leftovers of a gas station that used to be in Delia.
“That block also entails excavation of contaminated soil and fuel tanks. Now that we’re digging up the road, it’s a good time to do the remediation,” said Siverson.
It is expected the project, once started, will take six to eight weeks.
The cost is $1,081,969. Most of the project is covered by grant funding and operating surplus. However, the Village aims to borrow $300,000 to help cover the cost of the project.
“The Village has no debt at the moment. We say we’re looking at $300,000 to borrow, but we’re probably not going to use that much. Taking into account the contingency (budget), you never know what you’re going to run into when things get started, so it’s better to be prepared than not have the money in place,” said Siverson.
Two further phases are planned for 2015 and 2017.
“This is our biggest project by far, so that’s why we have to borrow. With the grant funding we’re expecting over the next few years, we won’t have to borrow for the other two projects,” said Siverson.
