Expected cost falls for water pipe work at roundabout site
Despite authorization for $1.5M in bonding, the project’s price tag is forecast to be $523K
The city Water Department is unlikely to spend anywhere near the $1.5 million authorized in bonding to install new pipes beneath the planned traffic roundabout at Albany Avenue, Broadway and Col. Chandler Drive, the head of the department says.
Superintendent Judith Hansen said the actual cost is expected to be about $523,000.
“We actually worked to reduce our costs,” Hansen said. “The initial estimates were $1.1 million. When presented with the initial estimate, the Board [of Water Commissioners] engaged Brinnier and Larios (a Kingston engineering firm) to review the plans and make recommendations for possible cost reductions.”
Hansen said the state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the roundabout project, submitted plans for the water pipe replacement work and that the Water Department took steps to refine the work and make it less costly. Those steps included: • Reducing the scope of the project.
“We limited the replacement to just those areas that were within the footprint of the actual roundabout,” Hansen said. “Replacing/repairing mains in that area would be very difficult after the round-
about was constructed.
“The mains in the adjacent streets can be repaired and/or replaced without impacting the roundabout, should that be necessary,”
she added.
The initial estimate called for replacing all of the water infrastructure within the entire project area, Hansen said.
• Adjusting the plan for a temporary water supply.
“After reviewing the plans, we decided to install valves prior to the start of
the project so that entire sections could be isolated without shutting off the water to the majority of the customers in the area,” Hansen said. “This will allow the new mains to be installed without interrupting the water supply.”
The Kingston Common Council and Mayor Steve
Noble earlier this year authorized borrowing up to $1.5 million for the Water Department project. But as a result of the changes, the current cost estimate for the work is $522,676.15, Hansen said.
In December, the Common Council authorized borrowing another $800,000 for the installation
of sewer pipes before the roundabout work begins, though City Engineer Ralph Swenson now says that work is expected to cost more than $1 million.
The creation of the traffic roundabout — which planners say will ease traffic flow at the busy and sometimes confusing intersection
— is to begin this fall and take about two years to complete. The entire $12 million cost of the project is coming from state and federal coffers.
Details of the roundabout project can be viewed at kingston-ny.gov/ i587intersection.