“These mains are roughly 100 years old, and some of them are as small as 4 inches in diameter,” said Hamilton Director of Engineering Allen Messer. “Today, we typically don’t put in anything less than 8 inches in diameter.”
Because of the small cast iron pipes, the area has had low water pressure, he said.
The water main replacement is part of a $2.58 million improvement project which will see sections of three roads repaved, complete with new curb and storm sewers. Messer said the paving cost will be the required local fund match.
“It’s paving we otherwise would be doing,” he said. “We’re frequently looking for areas where we can do both projects simultaneously.”
Impacted roads would be Azel Avenue (from Kenworthy Avenue to South McKinley Avenue), Ross Avenue (from Lawson Avenue to South McKinley Avenue) and South McKinley Avenue (Western Avenue to Franklin Street). The construction work is expected for 2026, and paving is likely to happen in 2027.
Hamilton will also ask the OPWC for its annual infrastructure grant funds. For fiscal year 2026, it is eligible for $1.45 million.
“This really is part of our budgeting,” Messer said. “We’re basically given an allotment based on population.”
Though the city is expected to receive the full grant funds, OPWC does require municipalities to apply for the money.
“It has to be eligible work,” he said, “and we have to demonstrate the value of this grant funding.”
This OPWC grant, Messer said, will help address “one of our greatest needs” in the city: resurfacing. However, while only certain streets are eligible, they will be part of a larger paving list city officials are still compiling and that will be announced later this fall.
These nearly dozen OPWC-eligible streets are a “pretty even split,” Messer said, between the west and east sides of the city. These streets will be the traditional mill and fill paving from curb to curb.
The OPWC grant Hamilton is expected to receive will be $300,000 more than what it received last year.
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