Portobello-Area Utility Project Needs Changes

Baxter Aldermen approved conducting a detailed analysis of utility changes needed to finish a T-DOT project surrounding the Portobello facility Thursday night.

City Engineer Tom Bennett said T-DOT will go to construction, as scheduled now, next year on the new Ditty Road, the widening of Old Baxter Road and a new road to the plant. As usually happens, T-DOT has made revisions to the original construction plans. But Baxter had already made utility moves to get the plant opened.

“You were handed an industry that was going to open at a given day, you had no choice but to proceed,” Bennett said. “That was in advance of a final set of engineering drawings from T-DOT. And then, you know, they make changes throughout. So you were burdened by the idea that you had to meet a deadline for an opening and the city met it, you know, and that this is sort of a little bit of the ramifications of having met that.”

Bennett said T-DOT will expect the utilities relocated when it wants to begin construction. He said in early looks, it appears to be changing some culverts, and moving some water and sewer pipes on Ditty Road.

“There are definitely conflicts, there’s no question about that,” Bennett said. “The extent of them, I don’t really know yet. I certainly do not know the cost of what that’s going to be, but we know that, you know, water and sewer on Diddy Road, big lines, deep lines in solid rock. It was a very difficult project. Some of that’s going to have to be moved. And you know, the good news is it’s going to be moved in areas that need some improvement anyway to the road. But, you know, what’s going to happen is the city is going to, you know, ideally undertakes a project to move these out of the way and at the conclusion of that, then the road construction starts.”

As for the cost, Bennett said the city could request T-DOT help pay for the second moves of these utilities.

“T-DOT has indicated that there could be funding by T-DOT, and that’s a ‘could be,'” Bennett said. “That needs to be thoroughly sifted out.”

Bennett said the changes are nothing new in getting a road construction project to completion.

In other business, Aldermen set the speed limit at 15mph on Baylor Court.