Next big project

SARANAC LAKE - The village is planning another downtown sewer main replacement project.

The village Board of Trustees heard a presentation Monday night from Jim Dougan of Plattsburgh-based AES Northeast, the village's engineering consulting firm, on plans to replace roughly 700 feet of 18-inch sewer main on Dorsey Street, between Broadway and LaPan Highway, over two-and-a-half months next year.

"It's a continuation of what you've been focused on really since 2004, which is the sewer trunk main from out here on Kiwassa (Road) all the way back to the (village wastewater treatment) plant," Dougan said. "We're just about complete with the LaPan Highway project, which was that section we were concerned about collapsing, and you did the Broadway project this spring. This is the section in between on Dorsey Street."

Jim Dougan of AES Northeast outlines plans to replace a sewer main on Dorsey Street next year at Monday nights Saranac Lake village Board of Trustees meeting in the Harrietstown Town Hall. (Enterprise photo Chris Knight)

The biggest issue, Dougan said, is the slope of the line.

"The pipe itself is not in terrible shape," he explained. "Some of it is sloped the wrong direction, so it's causing debris to collect there. It's causing backups. It is not the worst section through here, which is really why it has waited until last."

While most of the work would take place during the day, Dougan said there may be a need for night work at two locations: near the Dorsey-Broadway intersection and where a bridge crosses the Saranac River to the village's Dorsey Street parking lot.

"During the day, the street will be shut down, but each night it would be open to at least a minimum of single-lane traffic," Dougan said.

Dougan said he'd like to put the project out to bid soon because he said contractors are hungry for work. He presented two possible construction timelines the village could request when it solicits bids: from May 1 to July 15, or from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15.

"We're trying to not have the project be right in the middle of summer when it would disrupt the most visitors," he said. "We have one of two options, and we think that flexibility will get you even more aggressive pricing."

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Next big project