The Texas General Land Office (GLO) and officials with the City of Pinehurst finalized this week the details for a $6.8 million grant to cover infrastructure damage from Harvey. The work will take about two years to complete.
GLO Grant Manager Terri Spencer met with City Administrator Robbie Hood, Mayor Dan Mohon, several Pinehurst department heads, and grant administrator David Waxman at the Pinehurst City Hall. The $6.8 million will be used in three phases to repair damage caused by the storm two and a half years ago.
Charles Spain the Water and Wastewater Supervisor said the first two phases will involve his department starting with the relocation of the wastewater treatment plant. The facility will be moved about 150 feet and be raised about four feet to put it above the flood level by at least a couple of feet from when it was flooded by Harvey.
Next will be work on the blower room which also got water in it and is a key to the wastewater treatment plant operating properly. The blowers will be raised to avoid future flooding of them. “Once we get that taken care of, we’ll be starting to work on pipe bursting and replacing the sewer lines throughout the city,” Spain added.
The third phase will be resurfacing streets in Pinehurst that were inundated during Harvey. Public Works Director John Toney reported 25 to 30 roads will be repaired with the grant money.
Park Avenue is one street that is in the worst shape. The concrete is settling and creating bumps in the road surface. Lexington and Concord are two other streets in need of extensive restoration. Also 33rd Street going into various neighborhoods will receive attention.
Completion of these road repairs will free up the Public Works Department which has been busy with road repairs ever since Harvey. “It will give us more time to do other things in the city to take care of our citizens,” Toney replied.
City Administrator Hood stated Pinehurst has come a long way since Harvey. The contract for the infrastructure repairs expires in April 2022 which gives Pinehurst and the contractors a little over two years to complete the work.
The meeting with the GLO kicks off the $6.8 million infrastructure restorations in three phases concluding with the resurfacing of many of the streets in the city. “I don’t want the contractors stepping over each other, we want it to be done very expediently and get it taken care of so our citizens in the city of Pinehurst can enjoy a nice smooth surface to drive on,” Hood concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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