“DOH will be digging up all of William Avenue. I’ll be a one lane road for approximately two months,” Tomson said.
By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Davis Mayor Al Tomson updated the Davis Town Council January 22nd on the status of the Town’s Water Improvement Project. The update came from an update the Mayor had received from Thrasher on the status of the project on their efforts as the Town’s engineers.
Tomson read from the report that a Ground Water Feasibility Study was being completed on behalf of the Town. “Moody and Associates are working on the Ground Water Feasibility Study and we hope to get the report in the next week or two,” Tomson said.
The purpose of the study, Tomson said, was to explore the possibility of drilling ground water wells for the Town as a secondary water source in the future. “What we are looking at there, is to actually have some wells dug so that we can get water from the water table as opposed to just Wymers Creek,” Tomson said.
The project is part of a grant, according to Tomson, but the cost will be the deciding factor in construction. “Its part of a grant, but we have to see what the costs come in to whether we can afford the construction,” Tomson said.
The Town is still working with DOH to coordinate construction efforts along William Avenue, Tomson said. “We are still on track to get the Route 32 work completed in coordination with DOH and the maintenance schedule,” Tomson said.
Tomson said there are lines on 5th Street and 3rd Street that will need to be replaced due to outdated lines and potentially hazardous materials. “We have at 5th and 3rd, we have sections of water line that need to be replaced,” Tomson said. “They’re ductile iron, they have lead joints and they protrude into 32.”
As a result of the work along William Avenue, Tomson said the road will be reduced to one lane for approximately two months. “DOH will be digging up all of William Avenue,” Tomson said. “I’ll be a one lane road for approximately two months.”
The need for coordination, Tomson said, was so Thrasher could have casings installed under the road without the need to tear it back up again later. “Thrasher is coordinating with DOH so that we can get the casings in that need to go under the road without having to go back and tear up a newly paved road,” Tomson said.
According to Tomson, the Department of Highways will be taking the road down the bare dirt. “DOH is going to take off the paving and the concrete that’s under the concrete is also going to be removed,” Tomson said. “So everything that is applied by man is going to be removed and go down to the substrate.”
There will also be a public meeting held February 26th at 5:30 p.m. prior to the regular Town Council meeting, according to Tomson. The purpose of the meeting is to fulfill a Department of Environmental Protection requirement for the water project, Tomson said. “We need to advertise and hold a public meeting for the DEP requirements for our water project,” Tomson said. “We are looking at that meeting tentatively being February 26th and doing it at 5:30. That’s before a council meeting. So that meeting would be here at 5:30 and the council meeting would start at 6:30.”
Tomson said the Town is also awaiting quotes on ground penetrating radar for a rehabilitation project at the Wymer Run Dam. “She also says we’ve been waiting on getting quotes for ground penetrating radar, analysis and grouting work for the Wymer Run Dam rehab,” Tomson said.
The analysis is needed due to a leak at the reservoir, according to Tomson. “We have a leak at the reservoir,” Tomson said.
The GPR is being utilized by the Town to locate and determine the extent of damage to the dam and reservoir and how much material will be needed to repair the damage, according to Tomson. “The ground penetrating radar, what it will do is, it will pinpoint where the penetration is and it will also be able to map the void that’s in the ground that needs to be grouted or filled,” Tomson said.
Once the Town knows the extent of the damage, it will be in better position to solicit bids from contractors, Tomson said. “So once we know what we’re dealing with the situation, then we can go to the next step and go to the contractor that is going to fill the void and say we think it need this much grouting, how much will it cost?” Tomson said.
Tomson said estimates on the grouting and GPR were due within the following two weeks. “Both of the estimates for the cost of grouting and the ground penetrating radar are coming in this week or at the latest next week,” Tomson said.