In late June, the Saratoga Springs Department of Public Works announced the near completion of drainage improvements on Seward Street, near the Birch Run neighborhood.
Work is still not completed, but Michael Veitch in the office of Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco said it will be done soon.
"It's not completed just yet,” Veitch said on Aug. 10. "We're really close, like the next week or two."
He added that the project was looked at again and a decision was made to add more curbs and gutters to help with drainage.
According to the press release announcing the completion:
“The improvements are the result of neighborhood flooding issues communicated to DPW by residents and an engineering study identifying drainage solutions. The engineers’ opinion on probable construction cost estimated that the improvements would cost $632,000.”
DPW completed the work internally at about 1/10th the cost: $63,824.64. The remainder of the project should cost less than $10,000 the release says.
The drainage improvements were precipitated by residents contacting DPW in May of 2019 about flooding issues along Seward and Van Dorn Streets.
The hydraulic study was performed by Barton & Loguidice, which analyzed flooding events, suggested corrections, and provided the $632,000 construction estimate. Department staff realized they could complete the project themselves at great savings, the release says.
The addition of a storm line connected to a “live” line on Church Street, drainage structures, and curbs were all part of the work completed by DPW.
The final phase will be to pave the roadway with CHIPs funding at no cost to the taxpayers.
“We appreciate the cooperation of the residents in this neighborhood as the work has been disruptive but this will hopefully solve the long term flooding issues for a great final product,” Scirocco said in the release.