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Contractor breaks ground for sewer treatment plant
A contractor hired to build a new sewer treatment plant for the Town of Washington has begun construction of the plant on the grounds of the Avon Hall estate. The new plant is located just below U.S. 211 about 200 yards south of Avon Hall.
Rob Littleton – owner of Littleton Associates of Covington, Va., the contractor awarded the contract to build the plant – said that they had been given notice to proceed by the town's engineering firm WW Associates.
"We need to be working," said Littleton referring to getting the project underway.
They have already moved equipment on site and have been clearing ground.
However, the contractor hired to build the collection system in the town itself – Franklin Mechanical of Kilmarnock, Va., – has yet to receive a go-ahead said Blake Franklin, vice president and project manager.
Franklin said they still have to have a pre-construction meeting with the town, but that they are "hoping to start by the first of February."
Laura Dodd, town administrative assistant, said on Tuesday that a meeting with the contractor was tentatively scheduled for Jan. 12, but that the meeting had not yet been finalized.
Although there is yet no firm construction schedule, Franklin said that they will "start in places we can work this time of year which is in the streets and not the yards" of town residents.
He said they plan to work in sections so as not to "tear up the whole town at once."
The town is taking great care to work on a schedule that will minimize the impact on the town's businesses said Dodd. This would include halting construction over the Valentine's Day weekend, and working around businesses such as the Inn at Little Washington which will be closed for annual maintenance during the first week in February.
There are still the issues of resolving easement access to property within the town, and whether or not some residents will refuse to hook on to the system (see related story on A1.)
This is not unusual for small jurisdictions said John McCarthy, the county's administrator, and that even the Sperryville project proceeded in much the same way. The big difference, of course, is the cost. At the time, there was more grant money available, and the hookup cost to Sperryville property owners was minimal ($275) compared to what those in Washington will have to pay (upwards of $7,500).
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