Sinkhole projects attract contractors
KINGSTON >> The city is drawing interest from firms in different parts of the country to perform the ambitious soil stabilization project at the Washington Avenue sinkhole, a city official said.
City Engineer Ralph Swenson said eight firms have expressed interest in either the soil stabilization project or one involving piping related to the sinkhole work.
Many trade magazines have also contracted the city to get information about the projects, he added.
Swenson said the interest expressed so far has come from different parts of the country, including Texas. The more firms that wind up bidding on the projects, he said, the better it is for the city because it could lower the cost.
In January, the city began seeking bids from contractors for an underground archway project to stabilize soil at the Washington Avenue sinkhole site.
Swenson has said the project will include the construction of a 10,000-ton archway around a 100-year-old leaky stormwater tunnel that has been blamed for creating the sinkhole.
Additionally, Swenson said, bids are being sought for a piping project at the nearby Tannery Brook. He has said he expects to appear before the Common Council’s Finance/Economic Development Committee in mid-March to request borrowing for the projects. The bids are due March 4, he said.
If the Common Council approves the borrowing at its April meeting, both projects could start in May, Swenson said.
The most recent estimate for the sinkhole archway project is about $2.6 million, according to Swenson. The piping project is estimated at about $943,000.
The total cost of work related to the sinkhole, which opened nearly four years ago near Linderman Avenue, has now risen to more than $7 million.
Swenson said the archway project is a “specialized contract” and that he expects “at least three” firms to bid on it.
The piping project is likely to draw “quite a few” bidders, he added.
The underground archway is to be 50 feet high and 175 feet long. It was recommended by Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers of New York City.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has allocated $1.2 million for work related to the sinkhole, but has told the city it must get permission from nearby property owners to use their land before the archway project can go out to bid.
The city’s attorney, Andrew Zweben, has expressed confidence that all necessary easements for the archway project will be obtained. If not, Zweben had said, the city could alter the construction plan.
The archway is to be built beneath the surface of Washington Avenue and above the stormwater tunnel, with the goal of stabilizing the soil.