Rehoboth outfall work continues through frigid weather

Fixing a water main ruptured during work on the force main for the Rehoboth Beach outfall could cost city officials $186,000.

City commissioners learned Dec. 19 that contractor A-Del Construction hit a water main near the intersection of Roosevelt Street and State Road, interrupting water service in the Schoolvue area for about 90 minutes. Kelvin George, project manager with engineer GHD, said the rupture occurred accidentally; he said maps provided to A-Del by the city showed the main in the wrong location. 

George said the water main is old, dating to the 1960s, and is in need of replacement. A-Del provided a price of $196 per linear foot of pipe, about $166,000, with the city providing the materials at a cost of about $20,000. George said this was a very high price, noting A-Del has no reason to provide a lower bid since the project has not been competitively bid.

For the outfall force main, A-Del’s contract is $169 per linear foot of pipe, with A-Del providing materials.

The question for city officials, George said, is whether to let A-Del fix the water main now, while they have a permit and a crew is in the area, or wait until A-Del is finished and hold a competitive bid process that could last months, plus get another permit from Delaware Department of Transportation to work in the roadway. City crews are already working on installing a new water main on Henlopen Avenue. While the city crew could be pulled off Henlopen Avenue to work at State Road, it could create a conflict with two crews working in the same area.

City Manager Sharon Lynn, Mayor Paul Kuhns and Commissioner Patrick Gossett all supported negotiating a price with A-Del to do the work now, while they have the permits and the crew in place. Kuhns said that makes more sense than waiting, where the city would have to spend months getting permits and bids, and then going in and ripping up a street that A-Del will have just repaved once the force main is installed.

The city commissioners agreed to allow George to negotiate with A-Del on the price. Funding for the project would have to come out of the city’s budget, as it would be a separate contract from the outfall work. George said A-Del would also be submitting a change order for fixes to the water main made in December.

George said A-Del is also requesting a permit from DelDOT to close a section of State Road, from the pump station near the Route 1 overpass to the townhouses that intersect State Road and Canal Street to continue work on the force main. George said work is delayed while A-Del waits for the permit. Lynn said the city would provide further information for residents in the coming weeks as work gets closer to that area. 

So far, A-Del has installed nearly 3,000 linear feet of pipe along Roosevelt Street, the road leading to the Rehoboth wastewater treatment plant. Construction is now set for State Road, and crews have begun cutting the road to make the trench.

As work begins along State Road, Brandon Gott, engineering project manager for GHD, said traffic will be maintained around construction zones, and signs and protective barriers will be installed. “Traffic impacts will be minimized as much as possible, however, please plan for some delays and travel carefully through the work zone,” Gott said.

To speed up work on the force main, A-Del has sent a second crew that will start at Deauville Beach and work toward Henlopen Avenue. The plan is for the two crews to link up near Grove Park.  

Despite the winter weather, work in the ocean is going much more smoothly.

Gott said drilling at Deauville Beach will continue through mid-January. 

“Manson Construction is well prepared and experienced in working in all weather conditions,” he said.

Kuhns said Manson was set back a few days with the recent blizzard, but work resumed Jan. 8. Lynn said barges should be on site over the next several weeks as Manson continues to backfill the pipe trench and install concrete mattresses over the trench. 

Exactly when Manson has to be finished with the ocean work is still in question. When Manson bid on the contract, the city’s environmental permit with Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control mandated work be complete by March 15. At that point, the city did not have a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When the corps permit came in, after the contract had been awarded, the corps mandated work be finished by Feb. 28. Gott said GHD is in discussions with the corps and DNREC to modify the permit.

Manson has been working in two directions to drill the pipe 6,000 feet out into the ocean. Drilling from Deauville Beach has been continuously ongoing, with Manson working seven days a week. Work has been going at a more stop-and-go pace in the ocean; digging the trench in the ocean floor where the pipe will go in has been completed, and the pipe itself is still being assembled in Lewes. The pipe will eventually be floated down to the work site and sunk into the trench.

While Manson’s barge is not there now, Gott said it will be back as Manson installs the diffuser system, which will disperse the treated effluent. To keep the hole open in the sea floor, Gott said Manson uses drilling fluid to maintain the integrity of the hole.

The final piece of the $52.5 million project is upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant. Gott said equipment is ordered to replace the plant’s clarifiers and filtering system. Contractor Allan Myers has started painting the clarifier equipment and completed about 75 percent of concrete, HVAC and remaining electrical demolition in the filter building, Gott said.

The city commissioners will have the authority to review change orders on the project, although thus far, the only changes have been $1.9 million in credits from Manson for changes to the construction method. Gott said the most likely change orders will be a result of weather-related delays. The contract allows three days per month for weather delays, but beyond that, further delay will likely result in a change order, Gott said.