City's water main project runs into delays with the railroad

Friday, January 17, 2025 at 1:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

Monday night, Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members heard details about an additional 30 to 60-day delay in completing the city’s water main project that OCRA partially funds. The board tabled the request from TGB, giving the Utility Superintendent and City Attorney time to review the issue and proposed solution.

Contractor Ty Bancroft from TGB Unlimited attended the meeting to explain their issues with the railroad. The company has been working to secure permits to allow them to bore under the railroad that runs parallel to Lake Avenue. This requires a flagman and inspector from the railroad to be on site. In November, Plymouth Utility Superintendent Donnie Davidson said the cost estimate for them was $60,000, which he hadn’t budgeted.

Bancroft told the Board of Public Works that when the subcontractor came on site with the jack-and-bore equipment, they learned that CSX railroad had a second line they had leased out to Genesee & Wyoming. This news halted the boring project.

Bancroft said the railroad company made several revisions to the project drawings, but none met the industry standard, adding $49,500 to the project cost.

TGB Unlimited has dealt with railroads on similar projects and Bancroft said the best thing to do is stay out of their right-of-way because they don’t want work crews on their property.

Another issue Bancroft brought to the Board of Works was that the railroad doesn’t want to contract with a private company that could go out of business. The railroad prefers to contract with the City of Plymouth to ensure payment will be made. There is concern that the OCRA grant funds being used for this project expire in July.

A proposed solution presented by Bancroft would have bore pits outside the railroad’s property and reduce the time a flagger and inspector would need to be on site. He said the additional cost would be $5,300 and TGB would cover the additional cost.

The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety tabled any action for further review.