City Making Headway on Major Infrastructure Improvements

-Reconstruction of Bennett, Rowe Ave. Bolstering Local Water Management Capacities-

The City of Binghamton today announced developments in two of its main infrastructure improvement projects for 2008. The reconstruction of Bennett Avenue has reached the half-way point, and the reconstruction of Rowe Avenue is set to begin this week. The City expects to complete both projects this coming fall.

“These reconstruction efforts will improve our local quality of life and increase community safety,” said Mayor Ryan. “I applaud the departments of Public Works and Engineering for their hard work on these two projects, and on all our infrastructure improvement projects.”

Bennett Avenue

The Bennett Avenue reconstruction will enhance the street’s subterranean infrastructure – which serves 235 houses in the surrounding 55 acres, and has not been upgraded since first being built at the turn of the 20th Century. Since April, the City has been working to install a pump station, separate the area’s storm water sewer from the sanitary sewer, replace undersized water mains with larger ones, and repair all damaged catch basins, curbs, sidewalks, aprons, and pavement. The pump station is located 21 feet below the storm water sewer’s highpoint on Riverside Drive.

With a unified sewer system, the Joint Sewage Treatment Plant’s capacities have been strained in times of heavy rainfall, and sewage has at times backed-up into building’s basements as a result. However, the new pump station combined with sewer separation will allow the City to direct storm water into the Susquehanna River – improving the west side’s storm water management systems, relieving pressure on the Treatment Plant’s capacities, and preventing public health hazards. Upgrading Bennett Avenue’s water mains from 4 inches to 8 inches will increase the City’s storm water and sanitary sewer capacities as well.

In addition to infrastructure upgrades, the reconstruction effort will also allow the City to improve the area’s deteriorated sidewalks and pavement, some of which had grown cracked and uneven over the years.

The entire Bennett Avenue reconstruction covers two city blocks – 31,000 square feet. The acreage served by the new infrastructure runs from Riverside Drive north to Seminary Avenue, and from Chestnut Street west to Beethoven Street.

ROWE AVENUE

The City this week will begin similar work on Rowe Avenue, in an area whose infrastructure serves nine houses. There, the City will separate the storm and sanitary sewers, repair curbs damaged by the November 2006 floods, and replace the current 6 inch water mains with 8 inch versions. The street was first constructed in the 1940s, and has never been upgraded or repaired. It is expected that the surrounding area will see storm water/sanitary water management advances that are similar to those made by the Bennett Avenue reconstruction.

RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS

The infrastructure improvements on both Bennett and Rowe Avenue require a variety of engineering procedures – including selective sewer disconnection, excavation of existing structures, and installation of new structures. The equipment in use includes excavators, backhoes, graders, dump trucks, pavers, and rollers. Throughout the process, 10 to 15 workers will be involved at the Bennett Avenue site at any one time, and six-to-eight workers will be at Rowe Avenue.

The Bennett Avenue reconstruction will cost approximately $1.3 million, while the Rowe Avenue effort will cost about $245,000. The entire budget for the City’s 2008 Infrastructure Improvement Plan is $4.4 million.

“Our storm water and sanitary water infrastructure is aging and largely out-of-date, so it is only appropriate that we are making significant improvements such as these street reconstructions,” said Commissioner of Public Works Luke Day. “We couldn’t afford to wait any longer, and we’re looking forward to continued progress next year.”