Bayside Sewer Project Update, September 6, 2022

News From BettyAnne Rogers, WSA Director

Here’s the News that was forwarded to me via Councilman Ladouceur:

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Good afternoon Councilman Ladouceur,

Thank you for speaking with Mat Solitro and me today. As we discussed, some information follows below regarding Bayside resident concerns.

  1. The directional driller, Hemlock Directional Boring (HDB), subcontracted by D’Ambra, had a prior commitment in NY as disclosed during the start of construction. HDB has been away for the last few weeks. Work in Bayside has continued despite HBD being away on another job-site. D’Ambra continues to work in the open cut areas, installing laterals, main line and testing while HBD is away. We were told by D’Ambra that HBD would be returning to Bayside mid to late September. We reached out to our engineer GM2/GRA this morning and told them that we want a confirmed date in writing from D’Ambra as to when HBD will be returning to Bayside. A letter was prepared requesting a directional drilling update; the letter will be forwarded to D’Ambra by COB today. Presently our website indicates that direction drilling is on hold until further notice and construction dates are TBD for side-streets in directional drilling areas. As soon as we have HBD’s date of return and updated schedule, we will provide this information to you and post to our website.
  2. Mat spoke with the resident engineer for Bayside and he indicated that the roads are not in a mess/disrepair. D’Ambra was tasked with filling some pits with gravel and paving by last Friday. Unfortunately there were a couple of pits that remain unpaved. Heavy rain prevented plans for paving today. The pits will be paved as soon as the weather/conditions allow.
  3. During construction there have been obstructions, such as ledge and soil content, which have posed problems for directional drilling. Those issues, thus far, have been resolved by working with the Public Archaeological Laboratory (PAL). We anticipate there will be additional issues within the directional drilling areas and we will be addressing them as they arise.
  4. As with other WSA sewer contracts, the Bayside-D’Ambra contract does include language requiring that the contractor stays on schedule. Failure to do so would come at a cost to the contractor.

We will be in touch as soon as we hear back from the contractor. I’m hopeful we’ll receive a response by tomorrow. In the interim if you have any additional concerns please forward to me directly. Also, would you kindly forward this information to Mr. Woisard? He also emailed me with concerns regarding directional drilling.

Thank you very much Councilman!

Best,
BettyAnne

BettyAnne Rogers
Executive Director
Warwick Sewer Authority
125 Arthur W. Devine Boulevard
Warwick, RI 02886
Phone: 401-468-4718|Fax: 401-739-1414

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