Salem fountain project hits more snags

August 6, 2014 Salem fountain project hits more snags New subcontractor chosen to do etching on concrete blocks

By Neil H. Dempsey Staff Writer The Salem News Wed Aug 06, 2014, 04:30 AM EDT

SALEM The effort to renovate the downtown fountain featured in Nathaniel Hawthornes short story A Rill From The Town Pump is turning into something of a tale itself.

We have had a few unexpected issues, said Lynn Duncan, director of the citys planning department. Its been a complicated project.

Work on the Town Pump Fountain was supposed to be done by July 4. But as anybody who has seen the fenced-off site at Essex and Washington streets lately can attest, that didnt happen. Now it looks like it will be completed in mid- to late August, Duncan said.

The $250,000 project was designed to significantly reduce the footprint of the fountains basin it was often targeted by pranksters who dump soap in to make bubbles and replace its steps with concrete blocks inscribed with text from Hawthornes short story.

Workers will also put in a new filtration system, clean up the bronze plaques and install underwater lights that will shine up through the falling water at night.

There have been problems nearly from the get-go. The first cropped up when the contractor, R. Bates and Sons, discovered that dismantling the concrete base would be more complicated than anticipated. The project was put on hold as the company worked with engineers to develop a plan to avoid disrupting sensitive electrical and plumbing infrastructure below ground.

The delay was unexpected, though not exactly a surprise; whether its a house or a fountain, Duncan said, contractors often dont know exactly what theyll find when rehabbing a site. Also, the contractor apparently was working without complete drawings of what lay beneath the fountain.

Workers also encountered problems with drainage and plumbing, Duncan said, but theyve since been resolved, and everybody involved is now focused on what appears to be the final issue: getting the concrete blocks correctly etched with text.

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Salem fountain project hits more snags