Canal Winchester is gearing up for its largest construction project of the year: replacing water lines and roads in the Tank Town neighborhood.

The work is scheduled to start by March 1 and is expected to be completed by Sept. 1. The $2.13-million project is being funded by an Ohio Public Works Commission grant for about $1.1 million and a no-interest loan for the rest, which the city will finance for the next 30 years.

Construction Services Administrator Bill Sims said he hopes to bring a proposal for a selected vendor to council at its Feb. 4 meeting for approval. Bids are due Jan. 25; the vendor will be selected based on a combination of criteria, including project approach, experience and price.

“This is one of our oldest subdivisions so this will be a big project providing a good improvement,” Mayor Michael Ebert said.

According to Sims, much of the water line construction will be done by horizontal drilling, which will limit the amount of excavation needed to install the new water mains. However, resurfacing the streets will have a significant impact on access.

“We haven’t awarded the contract yet, so we don’t have a firm schedule about which streets will be (affected) first,” he said. “There’s a couple of different ways it could be approached, but within the contract, we have set a milestone to have the West Street work done before the pool opens to minimize that impact.”

The West Street portion of the project will include new water mains, new roadway pavement and some sidewalk improvements, which are required to be completed by May 22.

Streets receiving only water line upgrades include Trine Street, West Alley, Park Street, Beck Street, Cherokee Court, Mohican Court and Elizabeth Street.

Highland Avenue and Water Street will receive new water lines, storm water improvements, new curbs and new pavement.

Kramer Street, East Fairfield Street and Jennings Street will receive new water lines and roadway resurfacing.

Finally, Beatty Street will receive new water lines, curb repairs and new roadway pavement.

“Generally, during working hours, there will be impacts to parking and some limited interruptions to driveway access,” Sims said. “There may be lane restrictions to allow adequate room for equipment to operate safely, as well.

“During the milling and resurfacing operations, there will need to be some workday road closures but we’ll provide advanced notice for those.”

Ultimately, city officials say this will provide the neighborhood with improved water service and better roads for years to come.

“We have to replace the aging and deteriorating water mains, which will certainly improve delivery as well as fire service delivery,” Sims said. “The improved roadways will be a benefit of anyone who drives in the area.”