East Aurora Advertiser

Heavy Construction and Limited Parking on the Way for Culvert Replacement



In just a few weeks, the parking behind Bar-Bill and other businesses on the western side of the village will turn into a heavy construction zone. Construction workers will spend about 100 days repairing and replacing an old culvert before fixing the parking lot. 

During an informational session about the work on May 17, engineers and the general contractor told business owners and residents about the potential time frame and impacts on the area. 

“Let’s all be honest about this construction project,” Joseph Perillo, a representative with the general contractor, said. He described how large steel pipes, tractor-trailer loads, excavators, and dump trucks would be coming to the site and that people will “walk in back and say holy… my God, I didn’t expect all of this.”

It was his way of trying to showcase the extent of work that will be involved this summer to renovate the culvert for Tannery Brook as it goes from South Willow Street towards Oakwood Avenue. Parking behind Reed’s Liquor and going east towards Five Star Bank will be restricted or non-existent during the work schedule. There will be times when lane restrictions are in place along South Willow or by Hamburg Street to allow construction vehicles to enter or exit the site. Employees and customers will be displaced from parking in that area once construction starts. A few tenants for a nearby rental unit will have to find other places for some time. Coordination with the contractors will be important to make sure deliveries can still take place.  

“The whole thing is that, if we talk, and no one starts yelling and screaming at each other, we can go a long way,” Perillo said. “I’m here to do a job, and the faster I can get in and out, you’ll all be happier.”

Perillo is with Mark Cerrone Inc., the construction firm that will handle the $2.3 million project. He was accompanied by David Britton, an associate at GHD, the engineering firm that designed and will oversee the project. Britton said early June was the goal to start the work, but that is up in the air.

People look over the plans for the Tannery Brook culvert replacement during a May 17 meeting. Photo by Adam Zaremski

Village Administrator Cathie Thomas said that there is legal action pending on the job and that could hold things up. 

Earlier in the month, when the Village Board approved the bid by Mark Cerrone to do the work, Cerrone was actually the second-lowest bidder out of five total entries. When a government entity puts work out to bid, it is normally a requirement to take the lowest bidder unless there is an issue with the bid. 

The lowest bid came was $1.6 million from Union Concrete & Construction Corp. After a meeting behind closed doors on May 3, the Village Board voted to reject that bid. 

“[The company] failed to conform to a material bid requirement of the contract that cannot be waived or corrected after the bid opening,” Mayor Peter Mercurio stated at the May 3 meeting while reading from a prepared document. 

Engineers with GHD recommended the board reject the bid because it was “non-responsive to the bid solicitation due to the evident omission from the bid received of material work elements, and thus is hereby eliminated from consideration for reward.”

During the informational meeting on May 17, a person asked for clarification about the bid rejection. A representative with GHD said “non-responsive” is a legal term and that it usually means that “something was not provided correctly.” The Village Board held another closed-door session to discuss a legal matter. The board and engineers would not offer additional details about the matter at this time.

When construction does start, it will have several elements to it, Britton said. First, the section of the culvert from Five Star Bank and heading west will have 220-feet of slip lining with a steel coated pipe installed. Then, there will be 300-feet of concrete box culverts installed. This is all being done because the current culvert was installed in 1983 and is at the end of its lifespan. In November of 2017, a section of it collapsed by South Willow Street and Mikey Dee’s Cafe and Catering. That resulted in emergency repairs and a new culvert in that area. Since that time, the Village Board has discussed how it would repair the rest of the culvert. 

Once the culvert work is completed, much of the parking in that area will be fixed. An extra item added to the work is to create additional parking spaces. Britton said there are now about 70 spaces, and when this is done there would be about 130 total. He noted that was contingent on the village being able to complete an agreement for an easement with land in that area. The village does not own any of the parking spaces and only leases them for public parking. With the lease, the village plows and maintains the parking region. 

While talking to business owners, Britton and Perillo said they would work with the owners to manage delivery schedules. It would not be easy or the same, they noted because of construction, but they wanted to make it as simple as possible. 

There were still concerns with the plan. A general manager for the Irishman restaurant said there are already issues with parking across the street. She asked what could be done to make sure people don’t use that parking as it is restricted to only businesses in the plaza around Irishman and Rite Aid. Britton said they could install no parking signs and contact the village about those issues. 

After the meeting, East Aurora Police Chief Shane Krieger told one business owner that signs have to be in place to note parking restrictions. After that, if a problem is seen people can contact the department for enforcement. 

There are options for on-street parking around South Willow, Oakwood Avenue and North Willow. Thomas, the village administrator, said a map would be put on the village website to highlight alternative parking options on those streets. She also said people can sign up for email notifications about the project by going to the village website, east-aurora.ny.us/. 

There will be a main contact person for this project, but Britton said that had not been determined at this time. The village website and the email notifications will provide updated information as it is released.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.