Shipbuilder's Village water tower safely relocated

Milton's Shipbuilder's Village water tower now has a secure base that could last another century.

Town officials first found cracks in the foundation of Tower No. 2, located next to Shipbuilder's Village and behind H.O. Brittingham Elementary School, in 2011. Since the finding, Public Works Director Greg Wingo regularly kept a close eye on the problem until November 2014, when town officials set aside funds to replace the foundation.

Corrosion Control Inc. of New Jersey was chosen as the contractor for the project and has constructed a new concrete foundation 30 feet east of the tower's former location. The existing water tower was moved in one piece in mid-July.

Before deciding to relocate the tower just 30 feet east of its former location, council and committee members explored the cost of repairing the base – which would have cost the town more than $150,000 – as well as constructing a brand new base and tower, which would have cost upwards of $2 million.

The foundation replacement and tower relocation project cost cost more than $264,000, and after delays during the search for the proper concrete mix, Wingo said, the project is expected to be complete in the beginning of August.

After the base was poured and set, crews moved the empty 110-foot-tall, 75,000-gallon tank in one piece to its new foundation in the middle of July. Wingo said piping work is now underway, and he expects the tower to be refilled and back online by the first week of August.

Wingo said he expects Tower No. 2, which was built in the late 1980s, to be in use for another 60 to 100 years.

For more information, call Town Hall at 302-684-4110.