Stonington Originally published in Island Ad-Vantages, May 19, 2022 Main Street to get dug up this summer Manholes, valve boxes, water lines, paving

Paving, sanitary district and water company projects will disrupt downtown Stonington this summer. But it will be a challenge to complete every planned project, say officials with the town and water and sewer companies.

Maine’s Department of Transportation plans to pave Route 15, which includes Main Street. Because of the paving project, the Sanitary District will have to raise 47 manholes before the project begins.

The Sanitary District will also have to add new buried bisulfate lines and insulating sleeves to prevent freezing in the winter. That’s because the Department of Environmental Protection now requires Stonington to chlorinate the water year-round. That project will disturb the roadway by the lab.

In addition, the water company will have to replace 40 valve boxes.

“There’s going to be a lot of disruption,” said Annaleis Hafford, the Olver Associates engineer who manages the water and sewer companies, during the May 16 water company meeting.

Hafford said MDOT plans to begin paving on July 25, a tight deadline to complete all the water and sewer projects.

“It’s not giving us the time we need to get prepared,” she said. “I wish they’d push it off a little further.”

Selectman Evelyn Duncan said she gave MDOT a 10 percent chance of starting on that date. But Duncan had concerns about finding a contractor to take on the manhole project.

“We’re going out to bid on the 26th of May,” she said. “We’re hoping someone bids and they get it done before they pave.”

Another Main Street project may not start until 2023, according to Hafford. The Sanitary District will add a new septic tank beside the 11,000-gallon tank in front of the old American Legion Hall on Main Street. Two trenches will cross the roadway, the road will be excavated for the tank, and the failing wall rebuilt.

The water company also plans to replace the old transmission line, but work may not begin until winter. The new line will run from the treatment facility on Pumping Station Road to the water tank off Sunset Avenue. The project will include ledge blasting and cross trenches and will affect Cemetery Road and Sunset Avenue, according to Hafford.