Milton Magnolia Street work expected to last into March
Work on the drainage and bulkhead project at the Magnolia Street parking lot is scheduled to last into March.
The $1.2 million project was originally supposed to end in January, but numerous construction delays have pushed the project back. The parking lot at Magnolia Street has been closed since July 27, when the project began.
In December, contractor Mumford and Miller was granted a contract extension until Friday, March 10 to complete the project. That extension was for the 37 days Mumford and Miller was delayed due to contaminated soils found at the site. The contractor had to excavate the material, necessitating a dewatering permit from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and get permission to haul the spoils to Clean Earth’s Wilmington facility. In addition, Mumford and Miller ran into weather delays. Besides the contract extension, Milton Town Council also allowed Mumford and Miller to work extra hours the week of Dec. 16.
The Magnolia Street project is aimed at curbing nuisance flooding and improving the bulkhead along the Broadkill River. The project includes a retention area, which functions like a rain garden, but it will also have a pump to circulate water away from the current entrance to the parking lot. The town debated the project for three years in response to frequent standing water in the lot. While the project will not totally prevent flooding, it will cut down on the standing water. The project was initially only about drainage issues, but it grew to include repairs to the bulkhead when engineers from Pennoni Associates found a 30-inch drain pipe had collapsed, leading to a loss of soil behind the wall. The wall around the pipe also became corroded.
The expanded scope and increased cost of supplies caused the price of the project to go up to $1.2 million. Mumford and Miller’s bid was the lowest, but the town’s original estimate from three years ago was $814,000. The majority of the funding is from state grants, with additional money coming from the town’s transfer tax reserves.
With the parking lot closed, the town is offering alternate parking at the adjacent lot at Milton Historical Society, and at the lots near the fire hall at Front Street and Chestnut Street.
