By Carol P. Bartold     

Jun. 29, 2016:  Construction on Phase I of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Midland Valley Drainage Project, also known as the FEMA Flood Mitigation Project, is well under way in Bronxville as evidenced by blue pipes and dug-up property at village hall and the library.

During this first phase of a two-phase construction plan, forty eight-inch force main pipes, along with corresponding pipes, are being buried on the village hall property. The force mains are designed to carry water away from The Bronxville School property and surrounding low-lying neighborhoods.

Pipes are also being installed under a portion of the library's lawn and will cross beneath Pondfield Road to connect with the installation at village hall. Village Administrator Jim Palmer advises motorists on Pondfield Road to be prepared for temporary lane closures and the suspension of on-street parking during this phase of construction.

Palumbo Place, the street behind village hall, has been closed to vehicular traffic and is expected to remain closed for four to six weeks to facilitate the installation of pipes that will cross under the street from underneath village hall to carry excess storm water to its discharge point into a drainage channel leading to Laurel Brook, which drains into the Bronx River.

After the end of the 2015-2016 school year, work will be completed to form a continuous connection from an aboveground pumping station on the corner of Hayes Field near Midland Avenue to the Bronx River. Underground pipes from the pumping station will run under the elementary school parking lot, cross under Midland Avenue, run under a portion of the village library lawn, cross under Pondfield Road, run under a portion of the village hall lawn, and cross under Palumbo Place carrying excess storm water to the Bronx River as described above. 

Construction of this pumping system is scheduled for August and September. Seventy-five percent of the pumping station's electrical work will be completed during Phase I of the project.

"We're still looking at taking Hayes Field out of commission after the fall season," said Dan Carlin, assistant superintendent for business of the Bronxville schools. The field will remain unavailable through the spring of 2017. The district anticipates having a reconfigured turf Hayes Field ready for use in the fall of 2017.

Carlin reported at the board of education's June 16 meeting that a temporary parking lot for staff has been put in place on Meadow Avenue. This temporary lot will provide parking lost to construction and staging at the elementary school parking lot. He added that construction fencing should be erected shortly after the end of the school year.

Carlin stated that the district expects to review logistics of the project on an ongoing basis with village officials.

Pictured here:  Pipes for the flood mitigation project.

Photo by A. Warner