Heavy construction to replace a sagging sewer line deep under Water Street could run into June, with traffic detours hurting waterfront businesses and the rumble of digging and drilling continuing to damage sidewalks and nearby buildings.
This is the third time in three years Water Street has been under construction because of the troubled effort to replace an aging quarter-mile section of 30-inch sewer pipe installed in 1969.
“With all the noise, the vibrations, and the sewer smell, it’s non-stop madness,” said Colene Uva, general manager of Mamma Mia’s on Water Street. “I know they are doing what they have to do, but it’s killing us.”
Russell “Rusty” Romboldi Jr., owner of Ziggy’s Ice Cream and the adjoining apartment block on the corner of Chilton Street, said cracks in the foundations of his buildings and the adjoining public sidewalks have worsened since the work began.
Then, during the recent blizzard, two granite posts holding up the fence along the apartment building’s terrace snapped, with one falling to the sidewalk taking two sections of the fence with it.
“If someone was walking by when that fence fell, they could have been killed,” Romboldi said. “Everything shakes when they are working and it cracked those granite posts.”
The remaining fence is being stabilized and will eventually be repaired, Romboldi said. Now he is most worried about the safety of people walking on the sidewalk. He plans to open Ziggy’s for the season this weekend and the one lane of Water Street open to traffic is very narrow, pushing cars closer to the curb as they drive.
“When the weather breaks the waterfront will get busy. People want to get out and they’ll be walking by that construction and the road is very narrow now,” he said. “This is the third year, so I know what’s going to happen. On a Saturday night, you’ll get that kid in a Camaro zipping down that road at 50 miles an hour to show off. If people step off that curb they’ll get hit. We need police down there at night, not just during the day.”
In 2022, Northern Construction was awarded the contract to replace the old sewer line that runs under the edge of the harbor adjacent to Water Street. Town officials were concerned a break in the old line would be an environmental disaster for the waterfront.
Work started in December 2022 and was supposed to be finished by the end of June 2023. But in March 2023, during the first phase of excavation, groundwater problems, shifting soils, and damage to the street, sidewalks, and five buildings on Water and Chilton streets forced a shutdown of the project.
One of Romboldi’s buildings was damaged so badly it had to be razed. The owners of the affected buildings are suing both the town and Northern Construction, seeking more than $5 million in damages. That litigation is ongoing.
After the damage in March of 2023 an engineering review led to additional groundwater monitoring and relief wells placed within the working trench to prevent further damage.
The town ordered the current work, over the contractor’s objections, to repair a section of the new sewer line installed in 2023 and 2024 after soil settled and created a sag in the system that could cause waste to back up.
At first, Northern Construction pushed back, saying repairs were not necessary and could be counterproductive, causing more settlement and potential property damage. Instead, the company suggested periodic maintenance of the line, to remove solids building up in the settled area.
The town rejected the maintenance approach, because cleaning the line twice a year would be costly and would not fix the underlying problem.
The dispute delayed repairs to the point where it was too late to start without disrupting the 2025 tourist season, hence the current construction.
“We found what we expected,” said William Coyle, director of the Department of Public Works. “The manhole had settled about six inches and the sag in the pipe was as deep as 9 to 12 inches, so that’s not acceptable.”
While acknowledging the impact on area businesses, Coyle said the town is satisfied with the progress of the construction so far. He said Northern Construction is taking “extra precautions” to make sure the new line does not settle, adding more stone and compacting the area under the affected pipes and manhole. The town’s engineers are also measuring the precise position of each new section of pipe being placed in the ground, he said, so it can check for settlement in the months and years to come.
Contractually, Northern Construction has until June 30 to finish the job, Coyle said.
“The blizzard set them back about a week,” Coyle said. “We hope they will be complete by Memorial Day, but it could take longer, if they run into any issues and more weather delays.”
Every day the project continues is of concern for the local businesses. “I know they are doing their best, but it’s making me nervous because July 4 is huge for us,” Uva said.
Michael Cohen can be reached at michael@plymouthindependent.org.