March 16, 2023 |
Photo – Spring Avenue Bore Pit – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Saratoga, big earth-moving equipment has been parked along muddy and unpaved Spring Avenue, across from Town Hall, all winter. The big Caterpillars may be fired up soon. That’s the hope, at least.
The Spring Avenue Waterline Replacement and Paving Project contractors are coming to town to determine when work can resume.
The onset of winter forced the Spring Avenue Project contractor, Lewis and Lewis, to abandon the job until spring. With warmer weather coming, Mayor Chuck Davis said representatives from the company will meet with town officials to decide when work can begin.
Lewis and Lewis began the project last summer and was supposed to have finished replacing the water lines before the school year started. Equipment delays and dewatering problems pushed the completion date back to Thanksgiving. When it became clear the new deadline wouldn’t be hit, Lewis and Lewis asked the town to allow them to leave for the winter. The contract between Saratoga and the contractor states that a financial penalty of $1,750 a day would be assessed until the job was finished.
The town council chose to hold Lewis and Lewis to the contract to ensure their speedy return. Mayor Davis said this year’s historic snowfall makes it unlikely the contractor will be able to resume work on the agreed upon date of March 20th.
Mayor Davis said the meeting will be open to the public. He said representatives from the various groups involved in the project will be present to figure out when work may resume.
The public meeting with the Spring Avenue Project contractors will be this coming Monday, March 20th, at the Saratoga town hall starting at 2:00pm.
