Port Orange, FL - Public frustration over the apparent lack of progress on a small part of a vital Port Orange road has city leaders and the company behind the project promising to get the work done as soon as possible.
A presentation during Tuesday night's (December 20th) Port Orange City Council meeting laid out the schedule to fix Taylor Road between Sweetwater and Yorktowne boulevards. It was closed to vehicles earlier this month after a water main ruptured, damaging a small bridge.
Yesterday (December 19th), the city closed pedestrian access to that bridge - which is just west of Spruce Creek High School - for safety reasons. That stretch is often used as an access road for parents, students and teachers to get to and from the campus.
Brad Blais - an engineer with Wisconsin-based Mead & Hunt - told council members the company is working alongside Volusia County to get the construction done before January 7th, which is when school goes back in session.
But Blais admits it could take longer than that in part because of the amount of damage - which he suspects was caused by a water leak before the rupture - and a lack of information about how that bridge was built.
"The county wanted a plan," Blais added. "They wanted a written plan signed a sealed by an engineer. So we expedited that work into two phases."
According to Blais, the first phase will have the city's contractor, P&S Paving, remove the material and bridge debris so they can do the corrective measures to the road that will be brought on by phase two. That part would implement the lifts, water wall and water main to the bridge on Taylor Road.
Because that stretch of Taylor Road consists of a bridge, a team of bridge engineers will have to be brought in to make sure everything is correct, according to Blais.
"There's a likelihood they'll have to work through Christmas," Blais said. "If we can get everything done by the end of next week, then we can pour all the concrete prior to the next weekend. That seven day cure time will get us on track."
Plans for the first phase have already been approved. There is no word yet on phase two, but the plans have been submitted, per Blais.
"I think we're on track to get there," Blais told the council. "If the weather is good and everything kind of proceeds as planned, we'll make it."
The repair costs aren't clear at this point, per city officials.
