OGDENSBURG -- Construction of Ogdensburg’s massive rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plant will begin in April.

“The project construction team held a baseline scheduling meeting on Wednesday. Mobilization on site is expected to start on April 6,” City Manager Sarah Purdy said in a public update.

“At that time the laydown of construction trailers and staging areas will begin. Between now and then the layout plan for mobilization, delivery points and security will be finalized. Construction will ramp up in May and will focus first on the emergency generator installations, the grit removal building, the Elizabeth Street pump station and force main, and the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) storage tank,” she said.

Purdy said staff will move out of the central office space, where the lab and the monitoring system are located, in the beginning of May so that asbestos and lead abatement can take place there.

She expects between 40 and 50 project workers will be on site at peak construction times. Construction will take place Mondays through Thursdays for 10 hours per day. Because of the cure time for concrete and for concrete coating, most of the construction work for this year is anticipated to close midway through October, Purdy said.

Purdy said the project team will prepare on overview of the project and schedule for City Council.

The contract with Jett Industries sets a $35.9 million limit on the project and was approved unanimously, however the council approved the city manager to borrow as much as $49 million for the project to ensure financing is in place in case of unforeseen circumstances.

The project is expected to raise water rates from $417 annually to $700 annually in time, but it is unlikely rates will be hiked drastically in coming budget years. Purdy said the hike will likely occur gradually over time.