Syracuse’s Common Council discussed service costs Wednesday for an infrastructure and engineering firm repaving Salina and State streets.

If approved, the added costs will pay for inspection services from C&S Companies, said City Engineer Mary Robison. The amendment will add $1,203,000 to the city’s payment to C&S, increasing the construction project’s total cost to $2,248,000 from the city, she said.

The repavement project will remove the road currently in place on Salina and State streets and grind the material for recycling purposes. A new surface will then replace the two detracted areas.

Construction will begin this summer, and is expected to continue through 2021, Robison said. The city also plans to repave South Warren, Clinton, Montgomery and Jefferson streets next year.

Nearly 90 miles of roads in Syracuse received poor pavement ratings, according to a 2019–2020 report from the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council. The rating is reserved for surfaces with “severe or very severe distress occurring frequently” that may impede travel, the report said.

Councilor At-Large Michael Greene expressed concern about the project’s impact on road accessibility for Syracuse residents and asked whether C&S would be responsible for overseeing any potential obstacles.

“I’m sure it will be challenging because it’s two highly travelled quarters, but [C&S] anticipated this all along, so they’ve been planning for it,” Robison said.

Councilor Chol Majok, of the Third District, asked why the project had not been assigned to the city’s own engineering department.

The city’s engineering department does not have enough staff to manage a project of this scale alone, Robison said. Contracting firms allowed the city to better ensure that projects are following guidelines and will be eligible for proper reimbursement, she said.

“It’s in our best interest to use consultants for this,” Robison said.

Councilor Joseph Carni, of the First District, said using consultants reduced overall project costs for the city in general while also guaranteeing engineering expertise.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s cheaper to go sub the work out rather than pay someone in the house,” he said.

Published on February 5, 2020 at 10:53 pm

Contact Marnie: ammunozc@syr.edu