The Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority board heard updates on several current projects, including one on South Main Street that posed an obstacle for motorists during recent storms, when the board met last week.
The water line replacement project on South Main Street was to the stage where trenches for fire hydrant connections had been cut across the road and filled with gravel when heavy rains came through, washing out the gravel and making the trenches difficult for drivers to cross.
Gary McVey, water authority director, said the project is the full responsibility of the contractor. The job is being handled by UWS, of Trion.
“The contractor owns that job till it’s completed, then it gets turned over to the authority. It’s the contractor’s duty, when it rains, to make sure that trenches stay like they’re supposed to. It’s their responsibility to keep traffic moving and maintain their job,” said McVey. “Anytime you have an infrastructure (project in town) there’s going to be some inconveniences, but what happened went beyond people not being patient (with an) inconvenience. The ruts were very deep.”
The trenches could’ve been covered with steel plating or other means to keep them from washing out, but the contractor didn’t work on that particular day, McVey noted.
“It was a terrible day with the rain and the contractor never showed up. We got our guys out there to try and rectify the situation, and we got the contractor on the phone to (get them out there),” he added.
McVey said the water authority is “very unhappy” with the contractor’s performance of the job at this point.
“They’ve advised us this will not happen again, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” he added.
The water authority will also be asking the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to extend the deadline for the South Main Street project by an additional 90 days, so that a DCA grant can be used to cover some of the construction costs. That can’t be done until a certain percentage of the work has been completed.
If approved, the extension will change the project deadline to June 26, McVey noted. An additional 300 feet of water line, which is going in on West Spring Street, has also been added to the project.
In other project updates:
﹣ Another water line installation, this one on Old Highway 5 South, is nearing an end with approximately 600 feet of pipe left to install, followed by tie-ins and service connections. The contractor, Smith Pipeline, is expected to complete the entire project in around eight weeks.
﹣ A new pipeline is in service for portions of the Roundtop/Mt. Pisgah Road area. Crews have been working on installing 95 new water taps on the line, all of which should be done before the next round of pipe installation starts in the Knight Road/Barnes Mountain Road area.
In other news:
Board members approved:
﹣ Installation of 1,400 feet of additional water line on Orchard Road where there’s never been a proper water main installed. The aging section of water line has long caused issues, and it’s been repaired numerous times. The new pipe will connect the water main on the southern and northern ends of Orchard Road to create a looped system, which is expected to improve water quality and boost water flow for better fire protection. The anticipated $50,000 project cost was approved.
﹣ The completed purchase of three acres on Knight Road that will be used for a water tank to support the new water line in the Knight/Roundtop/ Mt. Pisgah Road area.