ROSSVILLE — The city has completed work to connect 150 Rossville homes to the city's sewer system and help prevent street flooding, the city announced on Tuesday.
The $24 million project added nearly 3 miles of sanitary sewers, over a mile of storm sewers, 52 catch basins and new drinking water mains to the neighborhood. It took nearly three years to complete, the Department of Environmental Protection said.
Both the catch basins and sewers will move storm waters into a nearby Bluebelt Wetlands, which will help reduce flooding that has plagued the neighborhood for years, Borough President James Oddo said.
“The completion of this project is good news for the South Shore, particularly for those streets that flooded with even the slightest bit of rain,” Oddo said in a statement.
“It should serve as a reminder about just how critical our Bluebelts are and how, at every opportunity, we should create, embrace and enhance our Bluebelt system.”
With the new construction, residents in the area will be able to connect to the city's sewer system and will no longer have to rely on septic tanks, the DEP said. Several streets around Rossville got the upgrades, including sections of Woodrow Road, Maguire Avenue and Mason Boulevard.
Along with the new infrastructure, the construction also resurfaced the roads in the neighborhood and added new sidewalks, curbs and pedestrian ramps, the DEP said.
Construction started in 2011 and was funded by the DEP and managed by the Department of Design and Construction. DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd said the city has more money budgeted to make improvements and upgrades to the water infrastructure in the borough over the next 10 years.
“With nearly $700 million budgeted for work on Staten Island over the next 10 years we will continue to build out, and upgrade, water and sewer infrastructure to ensure the borough remains a desirable place to live and raise a family," Lloyd said in a statement.
