It wasn’t enough to completely tear out Reed Parkway and Reed Streets, relay them, repair the water pipes, replace the sewer lines, lay sidewalks and top it off with landscaping — the village of Marcellus will also improve Highland Drive, though to a lesser extent.
Mayor Mike Plochocki said fixing Reed Parkway was one of his campaign promises in 2006, and after three years of searching for funding, the village board decided the repairs needed to be made whether outside funding became available or not.
And although the original plans have been scaled back, the final project will be the biggest the village has undertaken, Plochocki said.
“For a small village like this, this is a huge process,” he said.
Plochocki said ultimately the project will cost an estimated $1.5 million, of which $150,000 was taken from the sewer reserves fund. The water line repairs were largely subsidized by state and federal funds, and the board will continue to seek outside funding for the project, Plochocki said.
On Reed Parkway, the roadway will be completely relaid along with new curbing, new sewer pipes will be installed, water lines will be repaired or replaced, the existing sidewalks will be repaired and new sidewalk will be installed on both sides of the street. In the spring, the road will get a new topcoat and landscaping.
Plochocki said Reed Street was not necessarily on the agenda, but inspection proved the street was as in need of repair as the parkway. An abundance of springs in the area had led to the deterioration of the foundation of the road, so to “do it right,” the entire street needed to be relaid, Plochocki said.
“To our unpleasant surprise, we found that on Reed Street, the sewers were far worse [than expected], and in several areas to the point of being completely or almost completely clogged or near collapse,” Plochocki said.
Reed Street, like Reed Parkway, will be completely, along with new sewer and water lines, curbing, landscaping and repaired sidewalks.
On Highland Drive, the sewer system was in even worse shape. Sewer lines will be replaced or repaired wherever necessary. But because Highland Drive is less traveled than the others, the village decided to pare back the project costs by maintaining the existing roadway and patching problem areas.
Engineers Barton and Loguidice have held two public forums in recent weeks to bring the public up to speed on the Reed Parkway project, which broke ground in October, and to gain input from neighbors regarding the Reed Street renovations.
Both are expected to be finished by next summer, along with Highland Drive. The Reed Parkway project coincides with renovations being made to the Reed Parkway entrance to Driver Middle School.
Although the North Street project last summer was the biggest in village history, in terms of cost and breadth, the Reed Parkway, Reed Street and Highland Drive work will be the biggest to be totally funded by the village.
