OXFORD — Wintry conditions have taken their toll on construction of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility, delaying the facility viewed as an integral part of spurring economic development in the region.
According to Brent Bridges, senior vice president of Woodard and Curran, heavy snows and cold weather have delayed crews pouring the concrete foundation by several weeks.
Bridges said his firm, which was hired by the town to oversee the project, is concerned that the delay at this stage in the project will snowball, dragging down the entire schedule and jeopardizing the opening date next winter.
Some Maine towns and cities have said February was the coldest in history, and the winter has produced well-above-average snowfall amounts.
To top it off, Bridges said the crane used to pour concrete broke down for a time.
The $23.7 million facility is being constructed near Welchville Dam, at the intersection of Routes 26 and 121. When it is completed, sewage piped from miles of lines up and down Route 26 and King Street will be treated and the sterilized water discharged into the Little Androscoggin River.
The sewer system is viewed by the town and developers as an integral component in enticing businesses to the region following the opening of the Oxford Casino in 2012. Hotel developers constructing a Hampton Inn across the street previously said their project is tethered to the sewer plant going online.
Since December, crews have been working on setting rebar, pouring concrete, installing trench drains and water proofing. Bridges estimated the foundation work is 80 percent complete.
For the past several weeks, construction workers have been extending their workweek to Saturdays to make up for productivity lost because of the weather.
The construction firm Sargent Corp. of Old Town has been cleared to work Saturdays on a week-by-week basis to make up for lost time clearing snow and recovering from cold temperatures. Crews have covered the structure and are able to work inside a heated tent at times, but they’ve had to move the snow, and that has taken time.
“At this point in time, they’re a couple of weeks behind schedule,” Bridges said.
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