Published: September 01, 2008 01:01 am         

ALBION: Sewer project could be completed within a year through Small Cities grant.

Construction work on the Village of Albion’s sanitary sewer project could be completed as early as November or December 2009, if all goes according to plan, Engineer Paul Chatfield told the board at their Wednesday workshop.

He expects the project to be ready to go out to bid this November, with construction beginning as soon as January. The “plans and specs” are nearly ready, he said.

The estimated $2.5 to $2.6 million undertaking will replace up to 16,000 square feet of century-old piping with clay ones ranging from 13 to 20 feet in length, Chatfield said. They will be installed in the middle of the targeted roadways four to 12 feet deep.

The construction crew will work on one section of each road at a time, opening it up to local traffic, said engineer Jason A. Foote.

“We’re not going to have them close all of the roads at one time,” Chatfield said. Road closures and patching will be the responsibility of the contractor, he said.

A $600,000 Small Cities grant awarded to the village this month will help pay for a portion of the costs. The remainder will be bonded out over a period of years. Employees with the Village Department of Public Works will help with the work where possible.

The village is still waiting to hear on a Environmental Facilities Corp. grant through the Department of Environmental Conservation that would provide a zero to low interest rate.

“They’re looking at our project,” Trustee Dean Theodorakos said. “They’re going to decide as early as next week.”

Public Works Superintendent Dale Brooks and members of the board asked Chatfield to consider including McKinstry Street in the plans, as it is a scheduled drainage project, anyway.

“We’re trying to fix everything at one time so residents aren’t disturbed,” said Trustee Kevin Sheehan.

The Small Cities grant money is good through December 2010, said a member of Chatfield’s office. The village may want to use it to pay for bi-weekly construction costs, he said.

Members of the board are just glad to see the plans take shape.

“I’m so glad it’s getting going,” Sheehan said. “It’s been needed to be done for a long, long time.”