Columbus to spend $30K on drainage, waterline repairs

COLUMBUS — The town of Columbus is remedying drainage issues at Simms Street and water pressure issues on Thistle Road with one contractor.

The Columbus Town Council met Thursday night and approved two bids from Steppe Construction. The drainage bid for Simms Street was for $13,000, and the replacement of a corroded 1-inch waterline on Thistle Road with a 2-inch waterline was bid for $20,250.

Columbus Town Manager Tim Barth said one place in town where there is a problem when it rains hard is at the bottom of Simms Street, where it intersects with Wall Street.

“Water runs from three directions to a culvert that then runs under Simms Street to drain into the ditch on the other side,” Barth said. “The pipe under Simms Street is often not large enough to carry all of the water that is trying to get through.”

The work on Simms Street will include installing a 36-inch pipe under Wall Street, installing a catch basin and asphalt patch where the road is torn up.

Simms Street connects Walker Street near Columbus Town Hall, and the police department to the fire department on South Peake Street. Wall Street is midway between Walker and South Peake streets.

Councilman Robert Williamson added the Thistle Road waterline to the agenda Thursday.

He showed part of the pipe that had recently been replaced, which was old and corroded.

Thistle Road is off Highway 108 near the end of downtown and connects to Thrush Lane.

“[Thistle] has a 1-inch waterline, which is almost 50 percent closed up,” Williamson said.

Williams said there are 15-16 customers on that waterline. Town Clerk Monica Greene added that she often hears complaints from those customers that there is low water pressure.

The town received an estimate from Steppe Construction to replace the 1-inch line with a 2-inch line.

Public Works Director James Smith said Steppe indicated they could begin the work on Simms Street next week.

Mayor Eric McIntyre asked if the town could negotiate with Steppe to get both projects done for $30,000.