Town of Speedway News

Friends of Speedway: Many of you have followed the Town's efforts to correct a number of drainage, flooding and related neighborhood issues over the past few years. I'm happy to report that on Monday, September 28 the Town is advertising for bids for construction of the Gerrard - Allison Project, a project which will include about 15,000 linear feet of pipe, a large underground retention/detention tank, new inlets and grates, as well as road and curb improvements to improve storm water flow in an area bound by Lynhurst Drive on the west, Georgetown Road on the east and 20th street to the south (We refer to this area as the north of Crawfordsville Rd. project area); Lynhurst Drive on the west, Speedway Drive on the north and 16th street on the south (This is the south of Crawfordsville Rd. project area). This area of Town is prone to invasive flooding and persistent neighborhood drainage problems. In short, it's a quality of life issue. The project will break ground and get underway this year. The bids are due and will be opened on Friday, October 16 and the contract award will be made at the Town Council meeting on Monday, October 26th. We are TENTATIVELY planning a ground-breaking ceremony for Saturday, November 14, but stay tuned for more details. On a related note, the Town has also begun the process to reach out to residents and businesses to let them know about the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan, a plan that's been 4 years in the making, and will substantially reduce or eliminate sewage that flows into area waterways. It is a comprehensive plan, including sewer separation in the area just west of Main Street to Lynhurst and south of 16th to 10th. And an important part of this is separation on Main Street, working cooperative with the Redevelopment Commission-work that will begin this fall. The Town will also be embarking on improvements at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, located on Vermont, just west of Holt Road. Many of the plant's existing systems are outdated and are long past their useful life. Gerrard-Allison, the Long-Term Control Plan, Main Street Separation and Wastewater Plant Improvements: This all amounts to an ambitious plan, and while it's the right thing to do, we are required to undertake most of this work by state and federal regulators. While we are taking all possible steps to keep the costs of construction, financing, engineering and planning as low as possible, there will be an increase in sewer user rates to fund these important projects. We are finalizing those projections now. It's important that we hear from you, the residents of Speedway, about these important projects. As such, the Town Council has established the Citizens' Advisory Committee to provide input, advice and information on the projects. Their meetings are public, and I'd like to invite you to attend the next meeting, as noted below: Tuesday, September 29 6:00 pm Speedway Town Hall Auditorium 1450 North Lynhurst Drive The meeting will focus on an overview and history of the problem, discussion of the options, the financing plan and potential rate impact. Please make every effort to attend and share your thoughts on this important phase in Speedway's efforts to better the community! Thanks for taking time to read this, and I hope to see you Tuesday, September 29! Barbara

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