Port Washington reviews two utility-extension projects to bring water and sewer to Canalsville and Vantage site

Port Washington staff reviewed design plans for two utility-extension projects — numbered 26-1 and 26-2 — that would bring sewer and water service to Canalsville and build a redundant water feed to the Vantage development. Aaron Grow of Capor and Associates presented project scopes, cost estimates and traffic-management plans and said state permitting is the key factor shaping the schedule.

The projects include 10,000 feet of water main and 5,000 feet of sanitary sewer for 26-1, mainly along Highland Drive, Mink Ranch Road and County Trunk Highway KW, and an 11,000-foot, water-main-only 26-2 along KW and Lake Drive to the Vantage entrance, Grow said. He estimated 26-1 construction at just under $8 million and, with roughly 20% engineering and contingency, about $9.4 million; 26-2’s construction was estimated at $5 million (about $6 million with contingency). “We are still in the process … we have not gotten all the answers that we need to verify that we can move forward with this project and submit to PSC accordingly,” Grow said, referring to ongoing exchanges with the PSC.

Grow said PSC permitting — specifically rules the team cited that apply to lengthy water mains — is driving timing for both projects and could delay 26-2 into the fall. As a result, the team proposed a phased procurement approach to attract more bidders and to avoid concurrent closures on KW: “we're trying to make sure that one job needs to finish before the other one starts,” he said, adding that the specification prevents two contractors from working on the same KW section simultaneously.

Traffic control and detour planning are central to the design. The team’s preferred detour routing uses County Trunk Highway LL and A to keep detours consistent across phases, even though that may lengthen some trips. The presenters said they coordinated proposed detours with county staff and the Vantage design team (identified in the transcript as Grafe) and suggested directional drilling and localized open cuts at hydrant locations — about every 600 feet — to reduce traffic impacts. Grow said opening a southern Vantage entrance off Highland Drive, when that work completes, should move a substantial share of truck traffic away from the KW/LL/Lake Drive intersection and reduce pressure on Lake Drive.

Council members flagged school transportation and local businesses. In response, Grow said the contract will require the winning contractor to meet with Johnson Bus Company once a preliminary schedule is set to agree on safe routing; he also said the contractors must coordinate with businesses and that roads under construction will remain open to local traffic. On patching, the specs call for asphalt in warm weather and concrete in cold conditions; a contractual restriction discouraged work from Dec. 15 to March 15 unless the contractor assumes weather-related risks and costs.

The team plans a public information meeting (PIM) for directly affected stakeholders — named in the transcript as Johnson Bus, Piers Restaurant, Great Lakes Boat and Alen Edmond’s operation — and said it will ask Vantage to post construction updates on its project site. When asked whether the city would proactively notify property owners about curb stops installed for future connections, presenters said the town chairman has been doing door-to-door outreach.

No formal motion or vote was recorded in the provided transcript. The presenters emphasized that next steps hinge on PSC permitting and that schedules could shift; project advertising and construction timing remain contingent on receiving needed PSC clarifications and approvals.