Canton May Borrow $1.4M For Route 11 Water/Sewer

CANTON - The village Board of Trustees is poised to borrow up to $1.4 million to pay for water and sewer improvements when the state Department of Transportation reconstruction of Route 11 in the village begins in the spring.

"It'll be really efficient for the village to do that while they have the street torn up," Mayor David P. Curry said. "My main concern is Main Street right now, the price of it."

Village Superintendent Brien E. Hallahan, who is preparing the bond documents for the village board to approve, said the money will cover water and sewer lines from one end of the job to the other. The $10 million DOT project, which went to Albany on Wednesday for review before it is bid out March 22, will take place during two construction seasons.

DOT will pay for anything it disturbs as part of its reconstruction of the road from Gouverneur Street to Stiles Avenue.

Stephen G. Gagnon, DOT design job manager, said the pipes under Main Street are old and ready to fail. It might cost the village twice as much to repair its part of the system if the work is not done when the road is ripped up.

"The sanitary sewers are a literal time bomb," he said. "When we're all done, it's going to be such a benefit for the village to have this corridor with new pipes. They're going to have a state-of-the-art facility. It's important because it's the core. It should be a relief to the village."

The work will begin with the preparation of State Street as a detour. DOT will mill and repave the street, paint stripes and crosswalk markings, and replace signs.

The contractor must maintain traffic flow in both directions on Main Street until work on State Street is complete. Once that is in place, Main Street could have alternating traffic one way in each direction. Traffic is expected to be two ways most of the time.

Sections of Main Street may be closed twice.

One time will be to replace a sanitary sewer some 17 feet deep near Harrison Street that is in middle of the road. Main Street between College Street and Hillside Drive could be closed for a few days then because the contractor will not be able to backfill the street in the evening. That work will be done during a school break in the summer of either 2012 or 2013.

The section of Main Street at the railroad tracks may be closed for up to six weeks in 2013 when CSX replaces the crossing. Jay Street will become a dead end at that point.

"We're going to be terribly inconvenienced. We'll get through it and be better for it," Mr. Hallahan said. "The huge benefit is what people won't be able to see when it's done."

Mr. Hallahan advised through traffic to find another route.

"If you take a 10-mile detour, you'll save a half hour," he said. "Those who want to go through need to learn our back roads."

An exact order of the construction, which includes sidewalk and curb replacement, remains up in the air because of the complexity of the project, Mr. Gagnon said.

"That's been a big question for people for a long time," Mr. Gagnon said. "We always get asked by property owners, 'when will you be in front of my business?'"

The contractor may pave and paint pavement markings at night.

"It will speed up completion of the project," Mr. Gagnon said. "That's going to be 15 to 20 days total, and no more than three to five nights in front of any one particular house."

The contractor will not be allowed to use equipment that has vibrators on rollers during night work.