By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – The City Council approved emergency repaving of part of the Thunderbowl Lanes parking lot, disturbed by sewer rerouting necessitated by the Allen Road bridge repair, at its Oct. 27 meeting.
The resolution approved the repaving of approximately 41,000 square feet, at a cost of $95,000, to ASI Paving of Pontiac. Funding for the project came from the sewer maintenance account.
Kibby said that when the sanitary sewer line was rerouted because of the Wayne County bridge project on Allen Road over the Ecorse Creek, more of the parking lot was disturbed than originally intended, and to complete the project before asphalt paving becomes untenable in mid-November, emergency authorization was sought from the city engineer, the mayor and the Department of Public Works director to begin the work immediately.
Kibby said when vendor Dan’s Excavating of Shelby Township installed the sanitary sewer line, it did not use directional drilling, as predicated in its contract, and opted to correct the mistake using the open cut method, which resulted in a wider trench, more pavement removal, and more disturbance to the parking lot.
As a result, Dan’s Excavating will pay for $23,000 of the emergency repaving cost, with the city assuming the $72,000 balance.
Kibby said the easement agreement with Thunderbowl was conditional on the full restoration of the parking lot, and the easement was provided to the city at no additional cost.
Now that the bowling alley has been allowed to reopen, it needs all of its parking spaces restored.
Kibby said the relocation of the sanitary line through the Thunderbowl easement was the most economically viable choice for the city, and any other route would be longer, would require significantly more expensive routing and construction, and would require a new pumping station.
“Arguing with the contractor will result in paving work not getting completed this season, thus causing Thunderbowl excessive loss of business and income,” Kibby said in an Oct. 23 memo to the council. “It could also lead to a lawsuit against the city by Thunderbowl, since the city has exposure, with the easement agreement being between the city and Thunderbowl, and the contract is between the city and Dan’s (Excavating).”