Lewisburg officials heard details Monday about a proposed drainage replacement along Third Avenue South that an engineering consultant estimated would cost $485,250 for design and construction.
Consultant Jim Patterson of St. John's Engineering told the council he submitted an agreement to the mayor for the engineering portion and was asked to return to the work session to put the project “back in the forefront.” Patterson said the work covers failing pipe under neighboring buildings and an area where water ponds by an old loading dock. “The total cost estimate for the project, construction and engineering total is $485,250,” he said.
Patterson said the next step is design, not bidding. He described three options developed during a prior study and said the firm’s recommended option has not changed since December. Design work will include obtaining permits from the railroad for a segment that must go under tracks; Patterson warned obtaining railroad permits is “very likely a several month process.”
Council members asked about timing and whether the earlier cost estimate is still valid. Patterson said the design phase will let engineers refine quantities and the estimate, but unit prices will remain uncertain until bids are received. “You’re looking at, you know, sometime probably spring of next year before the project will actually be bid,” he said.
The council was told public works currently covers a hole in the roadway and that the project likely will include 9–11 catch basins to reach West Con (West Commerce) and address collapsed or clogged pipe beneath buildings. The meeting record shows a design agreement was delivered to the mayor and that staff expect the mayor has authority to sign; the consultant said he had given the mayor an agreement to sign.
No construction contract was approved at the work session. Council members and staff framed the discussion as a design-authority and permitting step; decisions about final scope, bidding and contract award will come after the design is completed and railroad permitting is obtained.
City staff said they will move forward with signing the engineering agreement and return with refined cost estimates after design.