By Christine Bryant
Staff Writer
City leaders are taking the next steps to get ready for a large project that will replace the water main lines along Main Street in Reynoldsburg.
At a Reynoldsburg City Council service committee meeting last month, officials discussed the $1.4 million project and began the process of authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with EMH&T for engineering and planning services.
The project, slated for next year, will replace nearly 2,800 feet of pipe along Main Street near the downtown area – replacing 6-inch cast iron pipe with 12-inch ductile iron pipe, said Mike Root, superintendent of the water department.
The lines that will be replaced were installed in 1935, and though some lines can last longer depending on conditions, Root said that a typical water main needs to be replaced every 50 to 60 years.
Funding for the project will come from the water capital improvement project account, and city officials want to finish the project before the state of Ohio and city begin another project to repave Main Street scheduled for 2018.
The city will begin bidding for the construction of the project in March or April next year, and initiate construction around April. Completion of the project is expected by August.
“Main Street will have some lane closures from Lancaster Avenue west to Waggoner Road,” Root said.
The water main project is just one of several improvements the city is planning during the next couple years, including a sewer line project along Rocky Den and Red Fox roads near Rosehill Road.
The project includes relining more than 6,000 feet of 8-inch pipe and about 325 feet of 12-inch pipe.
At the September service committee meeting, Root said the area is notorious for root intrusion and sewer back ups.
The project cost, $450,000, will be paid out of the sewer capital improvement project account as well, Root said.
“This project would go out to bid the same time as the water main project,” Root said. “It should be completed by early fall and no roads should be affected.”
