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Underwood Engineers reports progress on $3.6 million Central Street pump‑station replacement
Summary
Underwood Engineers updated the Bristol Select Board on the Central Street Wastewater Pump Station replacement, saying the 1967 terminal station processes roughly 200,000 gallons daily and that construction has overcome subsurface ledge and groundwater, with substantive completion previously scheduled for August 2025.
Steve Smith, project manager for Underwood Engineers, told the Bristol Select Board on April 16 that the town’s Central Street Wastewater Pump Station — built in 1967 and serving as the terminal station that conveys gravity flows to the treatment facility — has exceeded its useful life and requires replacement.
“The Station processes approximately two hundred thousand (200,000) gallons of wastewater per day,” Smith said, and added that pumps last replaced in 1990 require frequent maintenance. Smith described ongoing construction work: a completed wet well and valve vault that passed hydrostatic testing; a suspended concrete cover slab with access hatches; a new concrete masonry (CMU) building to be constructed over the wet well; and a replacement of the existing cast‑iron force main with a 12‑inch high‑density polyethylene pipeline installed by horizontal directional drilling to reduce surface disruption.
Smith said early work encountered challenging subsurface conditions, including excavation to nearly 20 feet, groundwater and ledge that required controlled blasting and continuous dewatering. He said those excavation risks have largely been resolved and that remaining work presents fewer concerns. The contractor on the publicly bid project is Sergent Corporation; the Notice to Proceed was issued December 13, 2024.
Project costs were summarized as approximately $3,600,000, including a $2,000,000 USDA bond, $1,050,000 in Congressional Direct Spending administered by the EPA, $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding, and about $40,000 in additional Town contributions. Smith said substantial completion would allow the town to place the new pump station and force main into operation, with remaining items limited to cleanup and punch‑list work; final completion had been scheduled for September 18, 2025.
Board members asked about traffic impacts, pipe sizing and construction risk. Smith said traffic impacts have been minimal, Summer Street work will not begin before 8:00 a.m., and drilling began on Summer Street to continue through Merrimack Street to the new pump station. He also confirmed that when the new station is operational the existing pump station will be demolished to about three feet below grade, perforated to allow drainage, backfilled with crushed gravel, and paved to provide site access.
The board received the update during a public hearing on Community Development Block Grant funding; the hearing was closed at 6:36 p.m. No action to change the project scope or funding package was taken at the meeting. The town will continue on‑site oversight with Underwood Engineers as construction wraps up.
