LAPEL — The town of Lapel has reached the next step in its $4 million-plus water improvement project.

On Tuesday, April 12, at the town’s water treatment plant, a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the construction portion of a project that will include improvements both at the facility and throughout town.

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and town council President Teresa Retherford were among the speakers at the event that included representatives from consulting firm Commonwealth Engineers Inc., grant administrator Kleinpeter Consulting Group LLC, construction companies Thieneman Construction and Atlas Excavating, along with the Indiana State Revolving Fund and other town officials.

The town had been seeking financial aid during the past four years through a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, but had lost out on the competitive award prior to this year.

The town, with the guidance of Commonwealth Engineers and Kleinpeter Consulting, created a bigger project and was awarded an OCRA grant of $700,000. It also applied and received funding from the revolving fund.

“This is a project that needed to be done for a long time,” Retherford said. “Finally being able to put one foot in front of the other and to get here today is just unbelievable.”

“It’s necessary for the sustained growth of the town,” council Vice President Chad Blake said. “While this isn’t increasing the size of our water system, it is preparing it for the future growth, replacing undersized water lines, the new pump station, water mains.”

The project will be constructed into two divisions.

Division A, which will be done by Thieneman Construction, will provide well, treatment and storage improvements.

Division B, the Atlas Excavating portion of the project, is for improvements in the distribution system.

A flyer distributed to those in attendance went into detail of what the projects will encompass.

Division A will include improvements to the existing wells, including Ford Street building improvements and State Road 13 pump/motor replacement, and improvements to the existing water treatment plant, and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and chemical feed upgrades.

The project also consists of general modification to the existing clearwell, including the addition of a mechanical mixer, and a new fire flow pump station.

The Division B section consists of providing all labor, material and equipment to complete general improvements to the town’s distribution system. The work consists of the installation of 8-inch- and 6-inch-diameter water mains, new fire hydrants, abandonment of existing water mains in place, all associated connections to existing mains and services, and all related work required to complete the project. This includes associated paving, grading, surface restoration, striping and utility relocation to accommodate the proposed improvements.

“We are really excited about it,” Lapel Utility Superintendent Mary Armacost said. “Everything they are doing is going to help us improve and make us safer.

“We’ve got mains that are near the end of their lifespan and they are getting replaced. There are new service lines put in for people. Anyone that has a galvanized line is getting it replaced. The plant, we’ve needed a mixer in that tank since it was designed. The plant will now operate the way it really should in the beginning. The filters are being improved.”

Rob Bellucci, of Commonwealth Engineers, said work will begin in the next week or two with the contract completion date set for December.

“Within the next week or two we will be mobilizing out here and start working on the tank. We are in the process of ordering all the material for (Atlas) to start getting pipe installed in town,” Bellucci said.

Quite a bit of the work in town will take place on Pendleton Avenue, Bellucci said. There will also be work on some other side streets.

“For me, it’s the culmination of a lot of effort by a lot of people. It’s going to mean a lot to the community,” Blake added. “Everything is not getting done, but something is getting done everywhere.”

Crouch applauded the collaboration of the various organizations to get the project going.

She added in her speech to the crowd, “It’s going to improve the quality of life in Lapel, which then will continue to grow the town and continue to benefit the citizens here in Lapel.”