POINT PLEASANT — A timeline for the North Point Pleasant Drainage Project (NPPDP) has been presented to city council by project engineers from Burgess and Niple.

The project crossed major milestones this month when 80 percent of the required right-of-ways were obtained and filed, as well as the Public Service Commission of West Virginia giving the project the green light. The timeline for major events associated with the NPPDP was developed to give council, and city officials, an idea of when, as well as what, to expect.

On Tuesday, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was to authorize the bidding process - WVDEP is providing the financing for the project.The WVDEP has mandated the city, along with many other small towns, separate their sanitary sewer from storm water. The NPPDP is also believed to alleviate drainage problems in the northern end of Point Pleasant.

The first advertisements for bids should appear in publications on Feb. 26 with a second bid advertisement on March 5. A pre-bid meeting is then set for March 12 with bid openings scheduled for March 28. Burgess and Niple will then issue a bid review letter on April 2. This will be followed by a conference call with the WVDEP on April 8. If all goes well, Point Pleasant City Council is expect to tentatively award a contract on April 9.

As recently reported, April 10 has been set as the date to have 100 percent of the easements recorded. With more than 80 pieces of property affected, it’s possible the city may not receive voluntary right-of-ways from all residents, some of which have expressed concerns about the project going through their property. In order to obtain 100 percent of the easements, the city may be forced into a last resort which is petitioning a judge for the remaining right-of-ways.

Engineers from Burgess and Niple explained the NPPDP as creating a channel which will be sloped to drain rainwater into Crooked Creek - they assured residents there would be no standing water in that channel. The channel is basically there to catch and then direct rainwater into another waterway as opposed to letting it pool. Some residents have expressed fears of water pooling on their property, a fear engineers dispute.

Finally, the loan closing with the WVDEP should be on May 21 with a pre-construction meeting on May 22. Finally, construction should begin on May 27 with the 90-day bid hold ending on June 26.