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WATER TANK PROJECT - DPW officials say the antiquated Auburn Street water tower (above left) will be met by a wrecking ball later this summer as the town finally breaks ground on a long-planned water system improvement project. The new replacement tank (shown superimposed onto the site in the graphic on the top right) will be erected on the same site beginning next October, according to current DPW timelines.
WATER TANK PROJECT - DPW officials say the antiquated Auburn Street water tower (above left) will be met by a wrecking ball later this summer as the town finally breaks ground on a long-planned water system improvement project. The new replacement tank (shown superimposed onto the site in the graphic on the top right) will be erected on the same site beginning next October, according to current DPW timelines.
READING — After years of discussion and contentious debate, work is finally underway on the Auburn Street water tank replacement project.
The $7 million project was approved by Town Meeting last fall despite concerns over ballooning construction costs related to the pandemic, and since then work has been done to prepare the 69-year-old tank’s removal. As of this month those efforts are picking up steam and now DPW director Jane Kinsella said the actual demolition has begun.
“They transferred all of the communications over to the temporary tower a couple of weeks ago,” Kinsella said. “We’re demolishing the current tank and once that’s down they’ll be moving the other one in.”
Though the notion of a demolition brings to mind a wrecking ball and a quick teardown, Kinsella emphasized that the process will take time. The existing tank isn’t expected to be completely removed until August, and after that construction of the new tank is expected to begin in October and last through the winter.
The project is scheduled for completion by the spring of 2023.
In addition to the water tank project, Kinsella said work will also begin soon on the $2.25 million Sturges Park Pump Station replacement. That project is experiencing a slight delay as the contractors wait for materials held up by ongoing supply chain issues, but those are expected to be resolved by the fall and work should begin in October.
In the meantime, residents can expect a number of other smaller projects around town over the coming months. Right now work is underway on the DPW’s downtown sewer improvements, and later this summer work will begin on planned upgrades to the downtown water mains.
The DPW also plans to resurface numerous roads across town. According to Kinsella, there are 10 roads on the docket this summer, including Clover Circle, Field Pond Drive, Melbourne Ave, Sunnyside Ave, Buckingham Drive, Cumberland Drive, Kensington Ave, Riverside Drive, Victoria Ave and Washington Street.
Grading work will also be done on portions of Walnut Street and Lincoln Street, and a new sidewalk and wheelchair ramp are expected to be installed along Woburn Street.
For the latest updates on the town’s construction projects over the coming months, visit the DPW’s website at https://www.readingma.gov/234/Construction-Updates.
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