The Hamlet Town Council has agreed to cover the cost of additional culvert work related to the upcoming rehabilitation of Starke Street. The town has been working with Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase to extend the culvert at Benninghoff Ditch. That will allow a sidewalk to be added from Plymouth Street north to the trailer park and gas station. But now, it’s also been determined that a culvert connected to the storm drain system also has to be extended.
After discussing the issue with project engineer Lee Nagai, Council President Dave Kesvormas said Wednesday that the additional work will likely cost $3,000. “It’s mostly for back-fill,” he explained, “and that other drain that they want to extend is not going to be that big of a deal, but they do want to back-fill it and make sure that when they do put the new sidewalk over it, that it’s compacted and then we don’t have future damage to the sidewalk that we put in.”
Kesvormas explained that the town had already agreed to cover $600 to $800 in stone and back-fill costs. Council members voted Wednesday to boost that level up to the full $3,000 required for the culvert work. It’s expected to start soon.
Hamlet officials haven’t gotten a start date from the paving contractor yet, for the main part of the project. It involves rebuilding the roadway between Plymouth Street and U.S. 30 and making drainage improvements, as well as the addition of the new sidewalk.
The project is being funded, in part, by a grant through the state’s Community Crossings program.
