City of Licking Potable Water Project progressing

By Shari Harris, Publisher

The City of Licking is seeing considerable progress on their potable water project. The project, one of four involving the infrastructure of the city, is the largest project underway and can be divided into three categories, the laying of water line, the well drilling and a new tower being constructed. Bartlett & West is the engineering firm overseeing the project.

Maggi Construction is in charge of laying the waterlines. They, along with subcontractors, have dug up and replaced old lines with new in many places throughout the city. Citizens may have had concerns when crews left for a while to complete another project, but they have returned now and are actually ahead of schedule. In addition to replacing waterlines, they are also responsible for returning roads and rights-of-way to their prior condition (or better) after their work is completed.

The damage to roads has been a frustrating but necessary part of the project. After placing the new lines, the dirt must pack thoroughly before asphalt can be replaced or the asphalt will bust into pieces as the dirt settles. The good news is that road repairs are progressing. Pierce Asphalt Company was repairing holes on College Street on Monday. They plan to finish College Street, School Street and Walker Street before the start of school to accommodate the upcoming increase in traffic on those streets. The road repairs throughout the city are expected to be complete by winter.

In the meantime, lines continue to be connected in other parts of the city. The Hamilton Addition water samples are back and are good, so service lines will be connected in that area. Lines still need to be laid around Dogwood and Maple, Old Salem Road, Kirkman Street, from Maple to the nursing home and where the new tower will be located (behind the rodeo grounds), and along Highway 32. The current six-foot easement along the south side of Highway 32 is so crowded with phone lines that the City hopes to place the water lines slightly further south, which is requiring a larger easement. Two retail businesses have asked for compensation for the increased easement, although it would not encroach upon their parking lots, and that must be addressed before the line can be laid.

Part of the water line portion of the project was initially planned to be funded with ARPA funds, but the bids that came in exceeded expectations and those lines were moved to the portion of the project funded by the State Revolving Fund (SRF), which is loans that the City will have to repay, the procurement of which was approved by voters in the April 2019 election. Work funded by the SRF requires the completion of a Cultural Resource Report, which must be approved by the Osage Nation. The City recently received confirmation that the report had been approved, allowing work in these areas to proceed.

Drilling a new well was the second component of the project. Progress on the drilling of a new well is coming along nicely now, after the well site was relocated to behind the factory building at the junction of Highway 32 and Route C. This became necessary after the initial drilling attempt failed, and this change also required approval by the Osage Nation before work could proceed. At the new site, a 12-inch test hole was successfully drilled and it looks like it will be a good well. Flynn Drilling Company was preparing to expand the hole to 17-inches on Monday, then the casing will be installed.

 

Photos by Shari Harris