The Department of Transportation plans to begin construction on the Booker Dairy Road Extension Project in 2018. Before the start next year, extensive work needs to take place to relocate utilities.
Tuesday night, the Smithfield Town Council approved a $2,037,249 loan to finance the relocation and extension of the town’s water distribution system in the right-of-way of Booker Dairy Road.
R.D. Braswell Construction was the low bidder at $1,935,619.78 well under the estimated cost of $3.5 million. Additional funds will be borrowed to pay for contract management and to maintain a contingency should any problems arise.
A 12 inch water line serves much of the Booker Dairy Road area including homes and schools. When the water lines are relocated, the town will installer new larger 16 inch lines to help with water pressure and anticipated future growth in the area.
Public Utilities Director Ted Credle could not give town council members an exact start date on the relocation work. The Department of Transportation had anticipated having right-of-ways secured from property owners by January. They have extended the timeline to March. The DOT still needs to reach settlements with the owners of more than 20 properties along the path of the project.
