Roads will be rebuilt in Donovan-Smith in Lewes

Teal Construction was recently awarded a contract for utility upgrades at Donovan-Smith Manufactured Home Park in Lewes.

Construction is slated to begin in February and is expected to last until November 2024. Engineers and officials associated with the project said this has been a long time coming for park residents.

To ensure transparency, Lewes Board of Public Works, engineer George, Miles and Buhr and Teal Construction will host monthly meetings with residents to discuss progress and any problems. There is also a page on BPW’s website containing all pertinent information. The first meeting was held Nov. 17, giving residents a chance to meet their point of contact, Duane Hoffman, and the other members of the entities involved.

Officials discussed the objectives of the project, but added a surprise – all roads within the park will be rebuilt and all speed bumps will be replaced with speed humps. Along with sanitary issues, residents have long complained about the condition of the roads, believing their flooding issues stem from potholes and poor stormwater design of the roads.

Work will begin with a sewer main, followed by a water main. Sewer and water services will then be connected to homes before the existing utilities are abandoned. During the presentation, residents were shown where the staging area and equipment storage would be located during work.

Officials said the existing sanitary sewer system is a mix of old clay pipe and shallow, small-diameter PVC pipe, both of which are prone to cracking. The new main will be large-diameter PVC piping buried at the proper depth. Dewatering will be required in order to install the sewer main. The process can be complex, involving a variety of equipment and digging, but Donovan-Smith residents will be alerted when work is set to take place near homes or during their commute. 

Work will require lane and road closures, but access to homes and emergency services will remain available. Donovans Road will have a lane closure when work begins on the water main.

A loss of service for about one hour will occur at each home during connection, but varying circumstances could mean prolonged interruptions. Each lot will receive its own connection, and sewer clean-outs will be installed at each sanitary sewer lateral.

New water services will be installed at each property comprising a 1-inch-diameter polyethylene plastic pipe, curb stop and homeowner pit for winterizing. The existing house plumbing will be joined with the water services and, like the connection of sewer services, cause brief loss of service. When the utility work is complete, the roadway will be removed and rebuilt with improvements such as signage for one-way roads.

Residents with questions should contact Duane Hoffman at 302-519-3527 or by email at dhoffman@gmbnet.com.