Rumford Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs, right, updates members of the Rumford Historical Society on this year’s infrastructure project on The Island downtown. Looking on are historical society members Druscilla and Dennis Breton. (Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times)

Congress Street in Rumford and several other streets on The Island downtown will undergo infrastructure construction beginning April 30. (Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times)

RUMFORD — Work on the $5.42 million infrastructure project on The Island downtown will officially begin Monday, April 30, according to Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs.

Speaking to members of the Rumford Historical Society on Wednesday evening, Briggs said she signed the 700-page contract with Sargent Corp. of Bangor on Wednesday morning, as authorized by the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 15.

Included in the estimated $5 million for downtown infrastructure improvements is $990,000 for the Rumford Water District, which will reimburse the town for its part of the project.

The project includes replacing sewer and storm systems under several streets, along with placement or replacement of sidewalks and other improvements.

Briggs said areas have been identified for Sargent to bring in its equipment and materials. Some of the softer materials, such as gravel and sand, will likely be stored at the town’s snow dump off Rumford Avenue.

A lot of the piping material will be stored across the Hartford Bridge, where the old Agway building stood.

“You’re going to be seeing a lot of stuff coming into town,” Briggs said.

She said the first part of the project will be the pipe crews working in the area of River and Hartford streets to put in temporary water.

“The water is going to be the most complex piece of the project,” Briggs said. “We have to maintain water and sewer to everyone. There will be some temporary shut-offs. The expectation is that when they move from the current to the temporary, you’re looking at about a four-hour window which will have advance notice for. Likewise, when the new pipes are put in, you’ll have the same four-hour window.”

She said the major concerns will be access to the Island, access to the businesses and accessibility for residents who live on The Island.

“We expect the biggest issue, at certain times of the project, to be parking,” the town manager said. Sargent is going to make foot traffic accessible to all throughout the project.

Briggs said there will be one-lane of traffic on every street at any time. With a few exceptions, the road, after cleanup, will be passable every day, as will the sidewalks at the end of the work day.

According to the contract, the work schedule will be weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Briggs said there will be between 20 and 25 workers on site at all times during workdays.

“It’s going to be a crazy summer,” she said. “Are there going to be problems? Yes. We don’t know what’s in the ground, as it is.”

“I do know we could uncover old coal pits that might be in the road because that’s the way the coal was delivered into the buildings, through these pits,” Briggs said. “I’ve been told some of these pits have actually been inhabited by current and former business owners, and they’re using them for storage and other things.”

Briggs said the coal pits will be cut off with material like sheet metal and filled in.

When the concrete sidewalks are put in, Briggs said they’re looking at four to five hours, and then they’ll build a platform placed over that during the curing time frame.

The disruption of access to businesses and residences on The Island will be minimized and advance notice will be given.

Briggs has requested better than a 24-hour notice. For example, she said, Trendsetters, a hair salon, could reschedule appointments if given enough notice.

The preliminary schedule includes 92 days beginning April 30 for temporary water work; 110 days beginning May 7 for sewer work; 110 days beginning May 28 for waterline work; 115 days beginning May 28 for storm drain work; 30 days beginning Aug. 6 for electrical work; and 76 days beginning Aug. 9 for road and pavement work.

Briggs stressed that all plans are subject to change, based on equipment availability, equipment maintenance and the weather.

She said plans will likely become “more solidified” following a reconstruction meeting Tuesday.

Project updates to the public will be posted on the town website and on the town Facebook page that displays the clock tower logo. 

Briggs said Barbara Bartash has also offered her Bartash Gift storefront windows on Congress Street to display construction updates for public viewing.

The town manager offered her assurance that balloting for the annual town meeting June 12 at the American Legion Hall at the head of Congress Street will not be affected.

She asked Sargent for full access to that building by the public that day and was told “if there is something happening that day, we will address it immediately.”

Briggs said the eight-month project will be “substantially complete” by the end of November, with the expectation that by December, they’ll just be looking at “punch list items.”

The project engineer is Rick Dunton of Main-Land Development in Livermore. Briggs said the engineering inspector is Gary Violette, who will be a contracted employee for Main-Land during the project.

Violette, who will also be responsible for working with residents and business owners during the project, will be operating from the the Poland Spring office at the lower end of Congress Street.

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