Sussex plans $5.2-million reconstruction project

Posted: Feb. 2, 2010

Village of Sussex — The Village Board will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday on an estimated $5.2-million road reconstruction and sewer- and water-line replacement project for Spring Green Heights.

Village Engineer and Public Works Director Eric Nitschke said he could not estimate that contract's cost because the Village Board would be choosing a design firm based more on its record of quality work and "project understanding."

The village will not be able to seek reconstruction bids, however, until the design plans and engineering specs are ready, Village Administrator Evan Teich explained to the Village Board meeting last Tuesday.

The village has time to wait to get the best reconstruction bids, he added, noting "today's favorable bidding climate."

Nitschke said he expected the project to extend over one or two construction seasons, depending on when construction begins, either midsummer of this year or spring of next year.

The schedule will depend on the design and engineering specs, he added.

"We aim to get the project done at the lowest cost with the best products at the least inconvenience to the residents," Nitschke said.

Spring Green Heights lies between Tulip Lane on its eastern edge and Pine Terrace/Hickory Drive and runs south of Silver Spring Road down to the village border.

The project will also extend along Clover Drive west of Spring Green.

The village plans to replace or reline 11,000 lineal feet of sanitary sewer lines and 7,500 lineal feet of water mains and completely reconstruct 9,000 lineal feet of roadway.

The village will contain some of the sewer line costs by relining instead of replacing about 2,500 lineal feet of pipeline.

Additional work on storm water drainage will be "worked out with the project designer" so that stormwater drains west to Sussex Creek and east to Highway 74, Nitschke said.

The project will eliminate two lift stations that move sewage from existing Spring Green sewer lines to the Sussex Wastewater Treatment Plant just south of Spring Green across Clover Drive. The new sewer lines will be designed to let gravity do the work instead.

Eliminating the lift stations will save the village the cost of maintaining them and replacing them every 25 to 50 years. The new "gravity-powered" sewer lines will cost less to maintain and only need replacing every 50 to 100 years, Nitschke said.