The Vienna town government is moving forward with plans to replace an existing culvert on Nutley Street, S.W., near the Marshall Street/Virginia Center Boulevard intersection to mitigate flooding problems for surrounding homes.
Vienna Town Council members on April 8 awarded a $230,937 engineering-services contract to Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP. The company will provide easement plats, utility test holes and design work for the project, which will replace the existing 36-inch-diameter culvert that crosses under Nutley Street with twin 10-by-6-foot culverts.
“This design will develop a comprehensive traffic-control plan,” said Vienna Public Works Director Brad Baer. “The intent is to keep two-way traffic, including pedestrian, open at all times.”
The project, which will be financed using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, aims to fix a problem caused by developments built decades ago before the institution of modern stormwater-management regulations, said Town Attorney Steven Briglia.
“The town inherited this problem,” he said. “It is not a town-created problem.”
Drainage conditions in the vicinity also have changed in recent years because of major improvements implemented along the Interstate 66, Baer said.
Council members, having viewed Baer’s recent photos of stormwater backing up as it tried to enter the culvert, said the project was crucial. One resident in the vicinity has bricked up the entrance to his basement to keep it from flooding, said Council member Howard Springsteen.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mayor Linda Colbert said of the project. “I’m really glad we can help the neighbors.”
