Construction crews work on South Broad Street in Norwich as part of a larger water main replacement project in the city. (Shawn Magrath Photo)

NORWICH – The Norwich Common Council will approve changes to the city’s water main replacement project in hopes of expediting work and having main street repaved by late fall.

Per direction of Delaware Engineering, the firm contracted with the city for the water main project, Norwich Council members agreed that some aspects which were initially included in the project can be altered, specifically the replacement of service lines carrying water from the main line to residences throughout the city.

Derrick Wilcox, the Delaware Engineering planner behind the water main project, spoke to council members at a meeting of the Joint Committees last week, making a case to keep usable existing copper service lines that extend from the water main. Many of those services are in good shape, he said, and keeping them “would be a cost savings” to the city that would also “tighten up the schedule.” 

It would be up to the Norwich City DPW to determine which service line connectors to keep and which to replace. 

“This will save us time and money,” said DPW Superintendent Edward Pepe. “We want to get this project done and make sure the road gets paved this year.”

While city officials are taking measures to have roads paved before winter, the paving schedule is mostly out of their hands because work is being done on a New York State road, meaning it will be up to state departments and their contracting firms to facilitate paving.

“What most people see is the mess downtown. To me the bottom line is to get the paving done on schedule so it doesn’t have to go through another whole season of winter with the pavement the way it is,” said Norwich Ward Three Alderwoman Nancy Allaire. “We’re doing this for the betterment of the city and we’ll do the best we can as fast as we can.”

“This is a major project for the city and everybody’s paying close attention,” said Ward Five Alderman David Zieno. “I want to thank everyone for trying to keep it on schedule.”

The water main replacement project began June 12. Since then, motorists have encountered construction delays and detours across the city, some drivers choosing to bypass the city entirely by taking County Road 32 which parallels North and South Broad streets.

Construction crews are working their way down Broad Street through the downtown area, between the intersections of Mechanic Street north and Prentice Street south. Vacri Construction, a Binghamton based contractor, is working on an August 31 deadline after which the state DOT will begin paving East Main and South Broad streets.

Although city officials have said there’s no guarantee of paving being finished before 2024, NYSDOT has committed to improving driving conditions on Broad Street before winter.