Country Club sewer reconstruction change order approved

Country Club sewer reconstruction change order approved
Community News Group / Photo by Patrick Rocchio

It now seems that a stalled sewer project in Country Club should be under way again after the start of the new year.

Reconstruction of the sewer was halted unexpectedly when the contractor discovered a very large boulder under Waterbury Avenue that was unexpected and needed a ‘change order’ from the city to pay for digging equipment that was not part of the original contract.

A spokesman for the Department of Design and Construction, which is overseeing the reconstruction of several blocks of Country Club’s sewers, stated that a requested change order has now been approved and that work should resume in early 2015.

“I spoke with Kenneth Kearns at Community Board 10, who stated that the funds have been approved and currently DDC is working with the contractor for scheduling,” said Country Club Civic Association president Michael McNerney, confirming reports that construction is slated to begin after the holiday season.

This short-term delay until after the start of next year will be beneficial to the residents along Waterbury Avenue, said McNerney in reference to the area where the huge rock was found.

“To be quite honest with you, if this work was done during the holiday season, this would have caused a major disruption for all the residents on Waterbury Avenue,” he said. “It would have required them opening up the street again, there would have been limited parking available for guests and residents during the holidays, and it was bad ascetically to have a ripped up street in front of your house during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day”

Kearns said that the delay has been ongoing since June. It was apparently unforeseen.

“The contractor had indicated that he needed some special piece of equipment to remove the boulder he encountered,” said Kearns, adding “it takes a little while, about three months, for the everything to go through the Financial Control Board and the Comptroller’s office.”

“We are optimistic,” he said about the job moving forward. “I am guessing that the project will be completed somewhere between January and February of 2015.”

The reconstruction of the sewer line came to a halt in June when the boulder was discovered. The whole project was originally slated to be completed by the end of 2014.

As was reported in June in the Bronx Times, Councilman James Vacca sympathized with the residents of Waterbury Avenue.

“It just means another delay in a project that has caused major inconvenience,” he said at the time, adding “we need this like a hole in the head.”

Reach Reporter Patrick Rocchio at (718) 260–4597. E-mail him at procc‌hio@c‌ngloc‌al.com. Follow him on Twitter @patrickfrocchio.