Ortonville- Only days after the completion of one South Street project, the village council has set into motion another.
At their meeting July 25, the council unanimously approved the establishment of an engineering contract to replace the South Street culvert over Duck Creek. The existing culvert will be taken out and a new one built, with a new guard rail, sidewalk and pavement put over it.
Leanne Panduren, project manager for Rowe, Inc., said the culvert is separating and undermining the roadway. Erosion is also a problem, causing the embankment to be less stable. She estimates the cost to the village will be $61,000, representing 20 percent of the construction costs and all of the design engineering, with the state picking up the remaining 80 percent of construction costs.
‘It’s important to do,? said Panduren. ‘They’d have to probably put more money into it to repair it, than it would cost to replace. The culvert is at the end of its design life. You don’t want to put money into maintain it when it’s at the end of its life anyway.?
Bids will be taken for the project after the first of the year and construction will most likely begin in June after school ends. South Street from Varsity Drive to just north of the culvert is expected to be closed for four to six weeks.
The village had to approve the engineering costs prior to Aug. 31 in order to receive the matching funds from the state to get the project done next year.