Completing Plymouth’s Safe Routes to School project may take a bit longer and cost a bit more than originally thought.
City Engineer Rick Gaul had told the Board of Works that projects like this one had usually been exempt from state requirements for detailed soil testing. This week, he told the board that procedure has changed, meaning the city’s engineering consultant has had to hire a firm to conduct a geotechnical analysis.
Gaul said that the cost of the analysis, combined with the additional work for the consultant, will end up costing nearly $10,500. Grant funding is expected to cover 80 percent of that cost, but Gaul says applying for that money will delay the project, eliminating the possibility of construction work starting this fall. “It’s in 2018 fiscal year right now,” he said. “We’d like to possibly move it into 2017. They’re going into stage three and will hold for final tracings and everything to proceed with that. And if funding becomes available, we would do it quicker.”
The Board of Works voted to approve the contract with Alt & Witzig Engineering for geotechnical services, unanimously.
