Bangor will likely spend $1 million to repair a deteriorating retaining wall behind City Hall that supports a busy city street.
The 405-foot long concrete retaining wall holding up a section of Park Street directly behind Bangor City Hall was built about 100 years ago and hasn’t been repaired since 1978, according to a 2015 evaluation of the wall that was completed by the Bangor-based consultants FGS/CMT Inc.
Today, the integrity of the retaining wall has been “compromised” and is breaking, cracking, tilting and has sustained “considerable strain” and “extensive weathering,” according to the report. Without the repairs, the wall could become unstable and give way, putting part of the street at risk of collapsing, said John Theriault, the city’s engineer.
“It’s not about to collapse,” said Theriault. “But it’s been there a very long time and there are parts of it that show some shifting and rotation and needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.”
The project is among several costly infrastructure projects that will be completed in Bangor this summer, including a $2.5 million city-funded sewer and water project along portions of French, State and Exchange streets, according to Theriault.
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A nearly $1 million resurfacing project along Broadway from Center Street to Husson Avenue will also be completed in late summer or early fall — 80 percent of which is covered by federal funds, and the rest through state and city funds, Theriault said.
The city’s Engineering Department selected Stillwater-based construction company Sargent Corporation to complete the project. But the city council has to vote on whether to award the a $1,079,041 contract, which would be paid for using fiscal 2017 funds and through a bond.
A portion of Park Street would be limited to a single lane of traffic during the repairs, which — if approved by the full city council, the planning board, and the historical preservation commission — would likely begin at the end of July or early August and would take about 10 weeks to complete, said Theriault.