Boothbay Harbor Sewer District will be replacing piping and manholes from the Routes 27 and 96 intersection down part of Eastern Avenue.

BHSD Superintendent Chris Higgins said the project voters approved last November is long overdue. as the asbestos-lined cement piping was installed in the late 1960s in a substandard manner.

“It was not put in under very good conditions. It's got some artifacts in it, there are some cracks, offset joints, there's some root intrusion. The manholes aren't close enough, so we don't have access to clean them. It just needs to be upgraded.”

The project will lay over 2,800 feet of 8-inch diameter sewer piping, an upgrade from the six-inch piping. Higgins said manholes generally should be no greater than 300 feet apart, but existing manholes are in excess of 450-500 feet apart, so there are only four. Higgins said they will be replaced with 12 manholes up the length of the project, and a 13th one will be installed on Eastern Avenue.

This will be the ending point of the project and will allow properties to tie into sewer lines in the future should East Boothbay ever want sewer access, said Higgins. It will also be key to the stretch between East Boothbay Village and Eastern Avenue should the area ever be developed, added Higgins.

The pre-bid estimate on the project was $627,000, but as the demand and cost of projects have continued to rise this year, Higgins said he knew it would cost more, just not by how much.

“The actual bid came in at $681,386. That's, what, 20% higher? … We figured we were going to have to rebid it. I didn't really think we were going to get favorable bids, but when they came in like that, we said, 'Yep, we'll take it.'”

The award went to T Buck Construction of Auburn. Higgins said the company would like to start work at the end of October or the first week in November. He said the only ledge the project is likely to hit will be on Eastern Avenue and that may require some blasting, but he is hopeful it will only take jackhammering for the 200 or so feet of pipe planned for that stretch. Little to no paving should be needed, since most of the work will be done on the south shoulder of the road, he said.

“It should be pretty easy going … 2,800 feet, barring weather, I don't know why they couldn't get 80 feet of pipe in the ground a day … I think by the end of December, unless they take a break, they should be done with that.”