ROTTERDAM Board OKs water main project Pipe underneath Altamont Avenue has broken repeatedly BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Town officials will replace a troublesome stretch of aging water main beneath Altamont Avenue this summer in an effort to stop a series of costly breaks that have occurred over the past four years. Board members approved an emergency contract with McDonald Engineering of Schenectady to prepare plans for replacing the main, which burst last week and caused serious damage to the road. Supervisor Steve Tommasone said the work will undoubtedly cause detours along the bustling commercial corridor throughout the summer. “We’re not in a position where we can wait two or three months to do this,” he said following the Town Board meeting Wednesday. Peter Van Keuren, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said there are no plans to reconstruct that segment of road between two busy commercial plazas and Rotterdam’s Coldbrook neighborhood. He said the road remains in good condition, despite the recent troubles the town has experienced with the water pipes running beneath it. “Structurally and condition-wise, it’s not in bad shape,” he said. Like much of the infrastructure in town, Tommasone said the 12-inch main that feeds Water District 5 from a water tank on Angers Avenue is more than 40 years old and a replacement is desperately needed. Traffic vibrations caused a massive rupture last week, buckling pavement between Stuart Road and the Tower Street intersection. The rupture was at least the third along Altamont Avenue since 2003, when a break closed the road between O’Brien Avenue and Crane Street for nearly 12 hours. In September, the same pipe ruptured between the Elizabeth Street and Tower Street intersections, forcing more than $125,000 worth of emergency repairs. Altamont Avenue was last reconstructed in 1988, when about 1.3 miles of the road were widened during a state-funded $6.7 million project. The improvements included 11-foot travel lanes and a 12-foot safety median with left-turn lanes at four intersections. The avenue was also given a drainage system, sidewalks and several timed signals. During the reconstruction, the town funded a sanitary sewer improvement along the road and National Grid installed new natural gas lines. Tommasone said the cost of the project is sure to total in the “hundreds of thousands of dollars” but will be funded predominantly through fees from the water district. He said Water District 5 has more than 11,000 users, meaning there are plenty of reserves.
Considering that we pay $25/$35 per year for our water leaves no cause to complain if there should be an increase. There are people in the city of Schenectady that pay in upwards of $250/year. And I believe that Scotia/Glenville residents are metered.
If they raised our water bill and used that money to resolve all of our water problems in this town....I WOULD NOT OBJECT!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I like you only pay $25 dollars a year for water. Each district is billed according to the expense of that water district and if you live in an area of the town that has poor water infrastructure then you pay more than other water districts. Why not increase all of our water bills a little and pay for the cost of infrastructure improvements for the whole town as needed??
Kevin, every water district pays according to how many people are funding that district and also get an increase in water fees when infrastructure breaks down. Every district pays a different fee just like the sewer districts.
I think that implementing an increase in the water districts that are in need of new sewers or repair/replacement of existing sewers/waterlines would be a wise choice. I think that state grants would be more readily available if the town and it's residents take a personal and financial interest first. Couple this with new developers also contributing as each development arises would be a win/win for this town.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
That would involve being PROactive, rather than REactive.
There's a number of issues with being PROactive in this case tho. The town as well as the city infastructure is SO old, where do you start? Not every part of every project can be done at the same time, both from a employee availability/resources standpoint - as well as from a financial view. Yes, grants are available for infastructure, yes, raising the water tax could pay for needed "issues" - but what happens if you (first prioritize) then start projects A B and C ... but something you had planned for a later resolution suddenly breaks forcing you to pull your reserves, manpower and resources?
It's a never ending battle, but we ALL need to start addressing this. Our sewer/drainage systems are, in some cases ~100 years old. The copper wire on the telephone poles is >60 yrs old. The issues in Rotterdam/Schenectady are more pronounced than say Princetown or Duanesburg - but they'll have issues too, at some point.
What to do? I dunno, that's up to our elected officials to address. That's why they get the big bucks. Did someone say "Planning Commission" or "Comprehensive Plan" ??
If the town raised the water tax and took the extra money to fix/replace the aging infrastructure on a worst first basis it would work. We have got to start somewhere and we need to stop this band aid fix mentality. The town also needs to hire it's own engineer instead of wasting all this money on studies done by other engineering firms.
we may need a study to study your idea to hire an engineer. Besides we have former democrat chairman of the town and fish fry owner Mike Greasemir to handle things and hire engineers, who then can send big money to the democrat party in the county for the favor of getting the studies. Dont you see how it works?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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