Milton to begin Magnolia Street drainage project July 27

Milton’s Magnolia Street parking lot will close starting Wednesday, July 27, as contractors begin work on a drainage and bulkhead project that will last through the end of the year.

With the parking lot closed, the town is offering alternate parking at the adjacent lot at Milton Historical Society and at the lots near the fire hall at Front Street and Chestnut Street. 

The $1.2 million contract is aimed at curbing nuisance flooding and improving the deteriorating bulkhead along the Broadkill River. For improving drainage, contractor Mumford and Miller will install what Town Manager Kristy Rogers called a “retention area,” which functions like a rain garden but will also have a pump to circulate water away from the current entrance to the parking lot.

While construction could be completed before the year is out, Rogers said her message to the public is that it could last through the year if the contractor runs into weather or supply delays. She said starting July 27, supplies will be delivered to the site. The project will begin with electrical work before moving on to the bulkhead and finally the parking lot.

The town has been debating the project for three years in response to frequent standing water in the parking lot; during storms, nearly a third of the lot is unusable. While the project will not totally prevent flooding in the event of storms, it will cut down on the standing water. The project was initially only about drainage issues at the parking lot, but it grew to include repairs to the bulkhead when engineers from Pennoni Associates found a 30-inch drain pipe had collapsed, leading to a loss of soil behind the wall. The wall around the pipe has also become corroded.

The expanded scope and increased cost of supplies has caused the price of the project to go up to $1.2 million. Mumford and Miller’s bid was the lowest, but the town’s original estimate from three years ago was $814,000. The town had already received nearly $600,000 in state grants for the project, and its fiscal year 2022 budget included $279,000 in real estate transfer tax reserves to be used. At council’s May 2 meeting, Rogers asked for a budget amendment to allow for an additional $282,000 in transfer tax reserves to finance the project, which was approved, but she also said she also plans to apply for additional state funding to lower the town’s share of the costs.