| Work Detail |
The work consists of installing a new water supply pipeline, which will increase the flow and pressure of water received by the neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. The first thing to be done will be marking out where the machines will work, and will continue with the digging and closing of streets during the month. The work will have an investment of around 800 million pesos.
Throughout this year, marked by the neutralization of public works throughout the province, Mayor Mauricio Davico expressed on several occasions that the postponed work to expand the drinking water system in Gualeguaychú would soon begin. Finally, in the last month, Davico announced that “the work on the Lavalle street pipe” –as it is commonly known– will begin the first week of September.
The final confirmation came to Ahora ElDía from Alejandro Ferrer, president of the firm Hornus SA, the company that won the tender to carry out this work dependent on the Ministry of Planning, Infrastructure and Services of Entre Ríos.
“The work will actually start on Monday, September 2, although the survey of existing sewage and water pipes along the pipeline route has already begun. On Monday we will continue with the survey of the rest of the existing interferences: fiber optics, gas, electricity, telephone,” said Ferrer, who announced that this week will be exclusively for interference searches, but that they must also “locate the existing pipe that is on Urquiza Street, in order to review the project levels and determine the type of special piece to be made.”
“Although the project is called ‘Expansion of the Drinking Water System – 1st Stage’, its execution includes the construction of the entire pipeline as well as the creation of the corresponding connections. It consists of a water supply pipe, made of PVC and with a diameter of 500 mm, which will be connected to another existing one at the intersection of Lavalle and Urquiza, and will be connected at its end, on Aguado Street and Sarmiento Avenue, with two existing pipelines, increasing the flow and water pressure of the neighborhoods in the southern area,” said Ferrer.
As indicated in the Descriptive Report of the original project document (dated 2021), the work aims to end a recurring problem in the south-east area of ??the city, where the Villa Maria, Zabalet, San Cayetano, Pueblo Nuevo, Yapeyú and Trinidad neighborhoods are located, among others. “The problem is the lack of pressure that this area suffers throughout the year, but much more so in summer, which is when consumption is considerably accentuated, failing to comply with the minimum pressure established by the guidelines of the National Entity for Water and Sanitation Works (Enhosa)”, mentions the document, which then explains that “this situation arises because the main mesh of the distribution network from the water treatment plant did not contemplate the exponential growth that occurred in the area”.
“It should be noted that various interventions have been carried out through the incorporation of underground drillings, which are connected to the main network and work in solidarity with it, thus trying to increase the pressure in the area, with mixed results and without being able to provide a definitive solution to the problem. Thus, it is considered that the suggested route is a priority in order to find a definitive solution to this problem,” he says.
It also mentions that “the affected area is one of the most densely populated in the city, with the probable possibility of even greater population growth towards the south of the city,” and details that currently “approximately 20,000 people live there, generally being lower middle class in their socioeconomic status, so their possibilities of accessing mechanical water lifting systems are more than complex.”
What will be the route of the work and how will the streets be worked on?
Although the president of the company awarded the contract made it clear that the first works will be carried out on Aguado and Goldaracena streets, he indicated that the route of the work will begin at the intersection of Lavalle and Urquiza, continue along Lavalle to Goldaracena, turn and continue along the latter to Aguado. From there, it will continue along Aguado to Avenida Parque, a site that coincides with one of the ends of the Corsódromo.
Regarding the interventions that will be carried out on the streets, Ferrer said: “We are going to submit a program to the Department of Traffic, in coordination with the Construction Inspection and with the Municipal staff, on how we are going to generate street closures.”
“The idea is that, once a street is closed, it is done first thing in the morning, and all the neighbours are spoken to, so that whoever has to get their car out can do so, for example. The aim is to build a fence and work during the day.”
“The idea is that everything we break up and dig up to place the pipe will then be covered over with rubble. The concrete will not be finished because that takes time. The streets will not be passable for everyone, but we will leave a night watchman who, at the end of the work schedule – which is usually around 4 pm – can open the fence for the neighbors to bring their cars into their garage, for example, knowing that the next day they will have to take it out again if they intend to use it during the day.”
Finally, he pointed out that "what needs to be made clear is that there will be fully coordinated work with the Department of Transit, which will provide information based on the needs and timelines of the work."
“Now we are going to start with some preliminary tasks, for example, cutting the concrete with discs. This is called sawing. The first thing is to mark where the machine will break later,” added Ferrer, who clarified that that date will be when the pipes arrive in Gualeguaychú.
Although he stressed that it is difficult to indicate the exact date on which each task will be carried out – due to the inconveniences that may arise – he estimated that the installation of the pipeline could be carried out in the second half of September.
Budget of the work
Due to inflation, and as contemplated in the specifications, the final budget for the work is much higher than the contract amount, established in June 2023 at $202,583,256.77.
Hornus SA said that they do not yet have the exact value, which is set through tables issued by the Province when the work formally begins, an adjustment mechanism pre-established by the same document.
However, Mayor Davico indicated in an interview at the end of June this year that the work, with the update, is around 800 million pesos. |
