Plummer/Spring water line work expected to start soon

Work on the Plummer/Spring Street water line replacement project in Oil City is expected to begin in less than two weeks.

A tentative start date is planned Monday, Aug. 8, city manager Mark Schroyer announced at Thursday’s city council meeting.

The current water line, which dates back to the 1800s, burst in November, causing a rippling effect on the roadway.

Barb Crudo, the mayor at the time of the incident, declared it an emergency situation due to the effect it has on traffic.

City council took a step forward in the process during its meeting June 23 when the panel awarded the project to Terra Works Inc. of Clarion at a cost of $944,449.

Schroyer said a pre-construction meeting will take place today to iron out some more of the specifics regarding the work, but he said the hope is for the contractor to start on the Spring Street side.

Schroyer also told council the city will likely see a savings of about $70,000 for the paving portion of the project.

He said PennDOT will help pave Plummer Street in June 2017.

The city will still have to repair the trench line and prepare the road to get through the winter after the line replacement is complete, but Schroyer said PennDOT will do an overlay next summer.

Jason Herman, the city’s director of water services, previously said that once work does begin, there will be interruptions in service for some residents, but letters will be hand-delivered to affected customers at least one to two days before the work starts.

Herman said last month the project has a tentative target completion date of sometime in October.