As you know, completion of the utility work, sidewalks, and final paving on Crafts Avenue was suspended last November by the City Engineer due to weather conditions.  Fortunately, we were able to complete all of the underground work, reconnect all of the water and sewer lines to each property on Crafts Avenue, and install the binder course of asphalt on the street.  Now that winter is finally over, we now have a schedule to complete the work on Crafts Avenue that was a condition of the permitting for River Park.

““There are a number of biotech companies in the Lebanon area and one of the running jokes with those entrepreneurs is how often they get asked the question, ‘When are you moving to Cambridge?’ And they say ‘Well we’re not. We want to stay in Lebanon,’” said Davis, citing firms like Gerngross’ protein engineering firm Adimab and drug purification company Avitide.”

I want to provide an update on the Crafts Avenue sewer line installation as well as the installation of the new water main.

The new sewer line has been installed to the manhole at Beyerle Street.  The depth of the excavation at this end of Crafts Avenue is much shallower, so the excavation should go faster.

Work on replacing the sewer line improved this week with Nott’s installing a water line bypass that allowed the temporary blue water line to be connected to several houses on the west side of Crafts Avenue.  This temporary blue water line will be installed to all houses on the west side of Crafts Avenue as part of the City’s installation of a new water main.  This will allow the sewer installation to advance faster and the new water main to follow with the addition of another crew from Nott’s Excavating.

Excavation and installation of the new sewer line for Crafts Avenue began as scheduled on August 15, 2018. As is often the case with below grade excavation projects, the contractor discovered recently installed pipes that were not on the drawing or known to DPW personnel. However, Nott’s Excavating has responded professionally and remains focused on Lyme’s primary objective of completing the work by November 1, 2018.

Just prior to the start of construction, the City Manger, Shaun Mulholland, reached out to me to let us know that the City has decided to install a new water main on Crafts Avenue, in conjunction with the sewer line replacement and street improvements which are the responsibility of River Park.

The City of Lebanon will be working directly with Nott’s Excavating to perform the work using new materials purchased by the City.

As previously announced, Nott’s Excavating has begun the mobilization for the Crafts Avenue sewer work.  The blue, flexible hose on the east side of the street will allow the contractor to provide uninterrupted municipal water service to each house on that side of the street while the trenching for the new sewer line commences up the street. 

The work will be done by Nott’s Excavating and they received an Excavation Permit from the City for August 1 – November 1, 2018.  Dig Safe has recently marked the utility locations for the entire street and the Lebanon DPW located and marked the water line shut-off valves for each property. 

We have not been able to secure an excavation permit from the City of Lebanon to start the sewer work on Crafts Avenue.  Consequently, we do not have time to complete the work this fall as originally hoped for prior to the deadline for street work found in the municipal ordinance.  I am really sorry we will have to now delay this work to be done in conjunction with the construction of the first building at River Park.

Pre-construction activity for the new sewer line and street improvements on Crafts Avenue made significant progress this past week.

Lyme, Leet Ware Construction, and Northwoods representatives met with Interim City Manager Paula Maville and department heads to coordinate the work.  An excavation permit was submitted to the City as requested.  This application includes a schedule, traffic plans, and performance bond.  The City is in the process of hiring an inspection team to monitor the work, which will be paid for by XYZ Dairy.