BERLIN – William Street remains closed to vehicle traffic as work to replace a culvert continues.
The street has been closed since the first week of September so that crews can install a larger culvert better able to handle stormwater. The project was expected to take four to six weeks.
“It’s moving along on schedule,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said this week. “We expect them to open the road shortly.”
The culvert replacement project is one of several efforts the town has made in recent years to improve drainage and address local flooding concerns. On William Street workers have opened the road to remove the old culvert and are replacing it with one significantly larger. The project is similar to one that was recently completed on Flower Street.
Allen said the William Street work would also involve installation of an offline wetland about an eighth of the size of the one behind the Flower Street Multi-Purpose Building. She said the wetland was expected to help with flooding and would also improve water quality in the area.
Allen said that the William Street project had gone smoothly so far and that there hadn’t been any of the issues with unmarked utilities that were experienced during the West Street roadwork.
“We really studied the area and worked closely with the gas company to make sure utilities were well marked,” she said.
After William Street, the town is set to repair Baker Street. On Tuesday, Allen received plans for the improvements from Davis Bowen & Friedel. Bids for the project were expected by the end of the week.
Allen said three contractors attended the pre-bid conference and she was hoping all three would bid on the project.
“The process works better the more we’ve got,” she said.
The town has budgeted $120,000 for the Baker Street improvements. Residents have expressed a desire to see the street repaired but its historic oyster shell cement left intact. Allen said residents of Baker Street would be kept informed as the improvement process moved ahead.
“The plan is to keep them in the loop as the project proceeds,” she said.
She pointed out that once projects were underway, they were also outlined on the town’s website, www.berlinmd.gov, under the “Town Projects” tab. Earlier this year, town staff started posting updates on various municipal projects online.
“We get a lot of questions from people and we have a lot of projects going on simultaneously,” she said. “We thought it would help.”
