April 3, 2023 |
Photo – Saratoga’s Spring Avenue Project – Bigfoot99 file photo
Work is underway again in Saratoga on the Spring Avenue Utility and Street Improvement Project.
The contractor responsible for replacing the town’s aging water pipes, Lewis and Lewis, has a big job on its hands. After getting a late start last summer and running into delays over ground water and equipment problems, the contractor could not finish the project by the original Halloween deadline. Lewis and Lewis was forced to pay fines to the town totaling $1,750 a day until work was complete. The clock on the fees, called liquidated damages, is still ticking.
After a long winter, Project Superintendent Justin Reed and his crew returned to the job a week ago Monday. At a March 20th meeting between town officials and the contractor, Mayor Chuck Davis said the first order of business should be repairing existing damage near the Platte Valley Community Center. Mayor Davis said he’s happy with the work that has been done since the L&L crews arrived back in town.
The mayor said work should resume on the water lines this week.
According to the mayor and Josh Morris from TO Engineers, the firm responsible for designing and overseeing the project, town officials are satisfied with the progress being made on the job. However, below freezing temperatures and continuing snow fall has slowed things down.
Over the winter, the mountain snowpack has accumulated to a point that springtime flooding in Saratoga is a real concern. Planning for emergency flood preparations has already begun. Mayor Davis said Lewis and Lewis has not been hampered by the threat of flooding, but melting snow and the resulting rise in groundwater may cause problems in the coming weeks.
Late last summer and early fall, ground water in the bore pit across from town hall brought the project to a standstill for several weeks. The bore pit was necessary to drill a hole for the pipe underneath State Highway 130 in the center of town. Since that time, the contractors have assured the town they have an effective strategy for dealing with groundwater.
While the town waits for Lewis and Lewis to finish the project, the streets department continues to address potholes. Mayor Davis said everyone is waiting for the warmer weather to finally arrive so work can really begin.
Mayor Davis said Lewis and Lewis has not given him a new expected completion date for the Spring Avenue Project. Finishing the project is as weather dependent now as it was last fall when work was suspended
