Thursday, 07 March 2019 15:38

Superfund, Super Mess, Super Headache

By Thomas Dimopoulos | News
Excelsior Avenue road closure facing west, with the Old Red Spring at left. Excelsior Avenue road closure facing west, with the Old Red Spring at left. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.

Soil Cleanup, Road Closure to Continue through June on Excelsior

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Construction work will continue through June in the Old Red Spring area on a stretch of Excelsior Avenue to address contaminated soil at the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Superfund site. 

The project area comprises approximately 0.5 acres of land and includes the Old Red Spring well and pavilion and a portion of Excelsior Avenue north of the spring and part of a paved church parking lot west of the spring area. 

The planned soil remediation will treat and contain tarry liquid located approximately 14 to 18 feet below the ground surface in the Old Red Spring area. The liquid migrated to the area via a former manufactured gas plant located nearby. 

The Old Red Spring well – which will be retrofitted by adding a new protective steel outer casing - gets its water from a separate deep aquifer that has not been impacted by the coal tar or its associated chemical compounds, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA adds that Loughberry Lake - the source of drinking water for the city of Saratoga Springs, has not been impacted by contamination from the site either. 

The work is being conducted by the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation with oversight by the EPA, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, and the city of Saratoga Springs.

Excelsior Avenue will continue to be closed to vehicle through-traffic between Rock Street and High Rock Avenue during remedial construction. 

City Engineer Timothy Wales said this week that the road will re-open in late June and in advance of the Firecracker 4 Road Race, which takes place July 4. Should all work not be completed by that time, the parties will return in the fall to complete the project, Wales said.    

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