Street Department Develops Drainage Solution(updated May 2 to add HNTB contract costs provided by the Speedway town clerk.) Dry Run Ditch Project - $50,950.09 Other Drainage Projects - $16,618.75 These costs include invoices received during 2006 and 2007 to date. (posted Apr 22) The Speedway Street Department has developed a new solution to provide relief for residents located in the 2000 block of Gerrard Avenue. The solution, estimated at less than $50,000, is to capture more storm water north of 21st Street and Lynhurst Drive before it enters the storm pipe and surcharges out into the combined sewer system. The excess water in the combined sewer system is causing sewage to back up into basements. Street Commissioner Wendall Walters said the plan would not capture all of the water. The plan includes adding four additional curb inlets and rebuilding two existing curb inlets at 22nd and Lynhurst Drive and adding one curb inlet and rebuild two inlets at the intersection of 22nd Street and Woolco Drive. The street department also cited a silted ditch in Coppertree Apartments as the other apparent source contributing to the increased storm water run off onto 21st Street. The silted build up is inhibiting the ditch's ability to carry water westward into the town's 66-inch storm water pipe. According to Walters, Coppertree's management has agreed to clean out the ditch at their expense, with the town supporting the project by providing the elevation benchmarks. By removing the silt, gravity should be able to move the water westward again. The Speedway Storm Water Board approved of the remedial action at its April 19 meeting. The board is hoping the solution might spare Gerrard Avenue residents from future flooding; however, the board still plans to continue with surveying elevations in the 2000 block of Gerrard Avenue by either Marion County Surveyors or HNTB. The elevations are needed to see if gravity can move the excess storm water toward 20th Street's storm water pipes that flow eastward and eventually discharge into Dry Run Ditch. This plan has been discussed for about the last five months, but an execution date has yet to be assigned to the project. HNTB Engineer Gordon Evans reported at the April 9 town council meeting that surveying would be in progress by the 19th, but nothing has happened. The residents are growing weary of the continual project delays. In the opinions Gerrard residents Lucy Tingle, Pam Flaherty and Judy Perfetto, Evans is undermining the seriousness of their drainage problems. As of Friday, Evans did not return calls to the paper to reply to residents' concerns. Evans was not present at the April 19 meeting. Perfetto thanked Walters for his proactive plan to do something to mitigate the storm water problem that creates sewage back ups into their basements. As of April 20th, the Marion County Surveyor's office had not received a work order to start the project. |
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