Photo provided An artist’s rendition of the Washington Street and Second Street intersection.
City officials have chosen the firm to replace an aging water main under Second Street.
A memo Columbus City Engineer Andrew Beckort sent to Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety members states that Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc. will replace the 100-year-old water main running down the middle of Second Street. The new water main will stretch from Brown Street to State Street, Columbus City Utilities (CCU) Director Roger Kelso said previously.
During the board’s next meeting on Sept. 9, board members will consider the execution of a public private agreement (PPA) between the city and Dave O’Mara finalizing the project, which will be done for an amount not the exceed $3.29 million.
The water main replacement is being done in conjunction with the $1.39 million Second Street Thoroughfare Project, involving street calming measures in the area. Both projects are a collaboration between redevelopment, CCU and city engineering.
Dave O’Mara Contractors was set to start on the thoroughfare project when redevelopment officials learned of the CCU plan to replace the old water main. City officials thought it would be worthwhile to combine the two projects and compact the timing associated with the resulting closures for the two projects.
Essentially what was going to happen was the city would make their road improvements, and then CCU would follow with their water main project about three months after. Instead, both will happen simultaneously, just in time before INDOT does a full pavement replacement project on Second and Third streets in fiscal year 2027.
The Second Street Thoroughfare Project came out of 2018’s Envision Columbus plan that identified the corridor as being “challenged by difficult pedestrian crossings at the fast moving State Road 46.”
Plans for the project include narrower lanes, bump outs, additional landscaping, improved pedestrian crossings, on-street parking, improved drainage, along with new curbs and ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Second Street Thoroughfare Project will include the following improvements:
- Narrowing the existing 13-15 foot travel lanes to 11 foot lanes (consistent with other streets and highways)
- Bump outs at the intersections to shorten pedestrian crossings
- Additional parking along the thoroughfare: 41 spots (37 standard spaces, four ADA)
- Accessible ramps installed at the intersections
- Installation of infrastructure for a signalized intersection at Second Street and Lafayette Avenue
- Address stormwater flooding
- Additional street trees and landscaping
- Replacement of the 100-year-old water main
