(SANDUSKY) – The Sanilac County Board of Public Works heard an update on the Worth Township sewer project and according to officials, the long-delayed, court-ordered work is within weeks of finally getting underway.
Worth Township officials have been busy finishing up final details of the $41 million dollar project that will bring a new sewer system to the township. Although all indications are the work is nearly set to begin, Sanilac County Road Commission Engineer Robb Falls cautioned the township has not applied for a required Road Commission permit and cannot begin the project until they have the permit allowing them to work along the roadway.
“They have to have that before they can begin,” Falls explained. “I would think they would contact us as part of the paperwork that has to be done prior to the start of construction. They really can’t start until they have our roadway permit.”
A pre-construction meeting with contractors is scheduled for later this month with work expected to begin sometime next month.
Residential septic systems in Worth were discovered leaking raw sewage into Lake Huron in 2004, a situation that was resolved when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the township had to install a sewer system nearly a decade later.
Construction for the project is supposed to get underway next month and approximately three quarters of the work will be funded with a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan for 40 years that property owners will have to pay back through a special assessment.
Township officials have said there will be an Oct. 25 pre-construction meeting with contractors with work beginning a few weeks after that. The work involves about 1,650 homes and 300 parcels east of M-25 between Galbraith Line Road and Chippewa Trail, as well as those between Galbraith and Chippewa in subdivisions and any building within 200 feet on the west side of M-25.
Construction must be completed within nine months or no later than September of 2018.
For more information about the project or the special assessment, you can contact the township at (810) 359-8852.
