The relocation of utilities—both underground and overhead—is often a mission-critical part of any infrastructure project.
Last year a natural-gas service at the town hall had to be moved as part of the demolition of the old police station. A buried NIPSCO gas line still needs to be moved as part of Phase III(A) of the Westchester Liberty Trail.
It’s not always the case, however, that a municipality and the utility are on the same page, and should a necessary relocation not make it onto a utility’s to-do list in a timely fashion—through some oversight or miscommunication—then the whole project can be delayed. Delays, of course, cost money.
That’s why Chesterton Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek wanted the Town Council to know at its meeting Monday night, March 10, that Assistant StreetCommissioner Dan Moy once again showed why his colleagues regard him so highly, by expediting action on a pair of overhead utilities which must be relocated for the construction of one of the two public parking lots in the Downtown this year.
Last week Gavelek and Town Engineer Mark O’Dell held a pre-construction meeting with Grimmer Construction, the general contractor on the Downtown parking project, at which it was made clear that “the critical path” for the parking lot in the 100 block of East Indiana Ave. is the relocation of a NIPSCO overhead electric line and a Comcast communication line.
“In response, Dan Moy immediately started making phone calls with NIPSCO and Comcast,” Gavelek said. “Comcast removed their line with days and NIPSCO has assigned a project manager to work on the relocation. Dan went above and beyond his duties to help with a priority special project and his efforts helped ensure the project remains on schedule.”
“I want to give credit to Dan,” Gavelek told the Town Council. “He came in at the 11th hour and helped us. So props to Dan for his efforts.”
Ground should break on the two public parking lots—the one in the 100 block of East Indiana Ave. and a second in the 100 block of Grant Ave.—by the end of March. Construction should be completed before the end of summer.
The East Indiana Ave. lot will be located just east of Broadway. Twenty-eight new parking spaces will be created while 23 existing ones will be “freshened up,” as Gavelek put it.
The Grant Ave. lot will be located immediately west of North Calumet Road and north of Thomas Centennial Park. Sixty new parking spaces will be created.