The west side of the Poor Farm Ditch reconstruction project is nearly completed, but the east side will likely not continue until this summer, West University Place officials said.
On Feb. 23, Public Works Director Michael Leech presented West U City Council and the mayor with before-and-after photos of the nearly-completed section, noting that the contractor is still finalizing a few details.
“This is updated with new, modern construction, which should last a good, long time,” Leech said.
The update
However, Leech said the east side of the ditch’s progress is going slower.
“Unfortunately, they’re still doing property research on the eastern side,” he said. “So essentially, what they’re looking at is where the actual property line is.”
Leech added that the surveyors have had trouble identifying the exact locations of properties and are still working to identify legal documents for each property.
“The timeline for us to know this information was, I believe, this month, but it’s going to be likely sometime this summer when we’ll have a clearer understanding of what the next steps will be and what the schedule will be,” he said.
What residents should know
Leech said this summer will come with testing and physical surveying of the landscape and properties, which may be invasive for some residents.
“One of the things that I think is worth doing, they’re being really diligent and deliberate about the process of identifying where the properties are,” he said. “They want to make sure that when they remove the old or the existing structure, they don’t detrimentally impact the homes and structures that are there.”
What’s next
When construction does occur, Leech said the testing and surveying are to ensure there are no adverse impacts on the adjacent properties.
“>