Port Richey updates: water-plant rehabilitation in design, dredging surveys underway, Grand Boulevard intersection permit pending

City staff updated the council on several infrastructure projects, saying the water-plant rehabilitation is advancing through design, dredging surveys are underway and the Grand Boulevard/US-19 intersection improvement design is awaiting final state approval.

Why it matters: These projects affect long-term utility reliability, flood resilience and multimodal access near the waterfront. Each project also has multiagency permitting or grant components that will determine timing and cost.

Water-plant rehabilitation
A consultant has provided new floor plans and the project team reported progress toward 3D renderings. The city manager said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will provide advanced payments for eligible work, which will ease local cash-flow constraints during construction planning. Staff expect a formal presentation from the design team in a fall council meeting.

Dredging and waterways
The consultant Stantec is conducting bathymetric and spoil testing work for the city’s dredging program, staff said. City staff provided Stantec with prior soil analyses (including samples undertaken for the fire-department site) to reduce duplicate testing. Stantec’s survey work is intended to produce permitting-ready documents and will feed into a longer-term construction schedule for dredging. Staff noted some spoil sites showed elevated contaminants (such as arsenic) in earlier testing, a factor that will affect disposal options and cost estimates.

Grand Boulevard intersection
Engineering estimates place construction costs for the Grand Boulevard intersection improvements at approximately $288,000. Staff said drainage-permit work has been signed by the city manager and that the project team has satisfied engineering comments from FDOT; final FDOT permit approval remains pending. Staff said they expected to publish bid documents after FDOT issues the permit and recommended keeping the project’s permitting status under active follow-up.

Next steps: Staff will: (1) schedule a detailed design presentation for the water-plant project, (2) continue dredging surveys and incorporate testing results into permit applications and cost estimates, and (3) press FDOT for final signoff so Grand Boulevard improvements can go to bid.