15th St. manhole issue lingers in New Albany

By DANIEL SUDDEATH
Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com

July 11, 2008 10:38 am

— Deemed as an emergency in June, a manhole along 15th Street at Division Street in New Albany will have to wait a few more weeks before being fixed.
Paul Elling, senior project manager for the city-hired firm Donohue & Associates, told the New Albany Sewer Board on Thursday eliminating the manhole would cost an estimated $250,000, with a contingency plan included in the price.
The plan would incorporate improvements to the stormwater system south of Spring Street along 15th Street, as well as making other improvements to the infrastructure in the area.
Elling said he considered asking for a special meeting of the board next week to award a contract for fixing the manhole, but the body likely will wait until its July 25 meeting to take action.
That meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m., and was moved back a day because of scheduling conflicts with some of the sewer department staff.
CSX Co., — which owns the railroad tracks along 15th Street — is partnering with the city to help with the emergency project. Elling said CSX supports the upgrades to the Spring Street area, in addition to fixing the manhole near Division Street.
“The work needs to be done,” Board member Bill Utz said.
Brian Dixon, program manager for Environmental Management Corp., said infrastructure improvements for Spring Street would require closing the road for a period of time, which will be determined when details are finalized.
Board Chairman Ron Carroll requested a written approval from CSX, showing they have signed off on the city’s plan. CSX’s portion of the deal will include providing flaggers to direct traffic and taking up the railroad tracks in order for crews to work.
Chic-fil-A gets sewer credits
Chic-fil-A Inc., received approval for 3,295 sewer credits that will be used for its new location at 2221 State St., when the building is constructed in early 2009.
One sewer credit is equal to one gallon of sewage and new developments such as houses, apartment buildings and businesses must have the appropriate amount of credits approved before they are allowed to connect to the system.
A spokeswoman for Chic-fil-A confirmed recently the restaurant chain will bring 65 jobs to New Albany and will be located in the parking lot of SuperPetz.