SARASOTA -More than a dozen concerned residents attend a public meeting Thursday night to discuss with City of Sarasota officials about the upcoming phase of the Lift Station 87 project that aims to improve waste flow in the city.
“It’s replacing an ageless lift station that handle a third of the City of Sarasota waste water flow,” said Tony Centurione.
Centurione, Capital Projects Engineer for the City of Sarasota, says Lift Station 87 will replace Lift Station 7. The change will provide resilience and reliable waste water services. The project is in the midst of its second phase where construction of the new lift station has begun.
“Phase 2 is the construction of the lift station structure the concrete, the pumps, and electrical system that’s going to convey waste water up to our waste water distributes plant on 12th St,” said Centurione.
Phase 1 included installing a 670-foot long micro-tunnel under the Hudson Bayou and a similar tunnel under Lake Wood Park. Phase three involves placing a 24-inch diameter gravity waste water pipeline that will close off some streets.
Officials say as early as the summer of 2020 Osprey Ave could be closed just north of Hudson Bayou and Alta Vista Street. That closure should last approximately eight months while crews excavate and make those sewer connections to Lift Station 87.
Sarasota resident Sally Bailey says she’s seen the start of the project and hopes city officials will provide residents affected by the upcoming construction clear answers before streets like Alta Vista, Polmelo Ave, and Polmelo Place see any work done.
“I’m a little skeptical right now, I don’t know if they’re handling it properly with the public,” said Bailey. “There seemed to be a lot of questions without enough answers and we’re concerned.”
Bailey says she knows the project is crucial to the city but also wants the city to communicate with residents affected to know the game plan ahead of time to plan accordingly when it comes to traffic detours and other obstacles that may come across.
“I understand it has to be done I definitely want the new lift station, I just want to make sure we’re minimized as far as the distractions, the impact that’s going to be to our daily life’s as best as possible,” she said.
And residents will hopefully get those answer at the next public meeting scheduled for either April or May of 2020 when the city finds a contractor to take on the challenging task. For now residents are encouraged to reach out to city officials to continue to voice their opinions.
Construction of the lift station structure is scheduled to be complete by mid-2020. The project is expected to be completely done by March 2021. To get more information on the project visit liftstation87.com
