Jackson pays extra for work

A couple of hard-luck incidents may cost the city of Jackson $74,000 and cause a six-week delay in the construction of a new water well on Highway 61 near the city's industrial park.

First a drill bit broke 236 feet below ground as Midwest Hydro, a subcontractor, was in the process of drilling.

So the contractor drilled another hole 27 feet to the north of the first hole and hit a layer of clay about 200 feet down. The clay is too soft for a well, so at Monday night's board of aldermen study session, the aldermen will discuss a change to the current contract allowing an 18-inch steel casing to be installed to hold the hole open.

The board will also consider allowing an extra six weeks for the completion of the project, due to the most recent setback.

Public works director Rodney Bollinger said many tests were done on the soil, but nothing showed a clay layer.

The original contract to general contractor Robinson Mechanical of Perryville, Mo., was for $744,990. With the casing, the amount will be $818,990.

Bollinger said the city was hoping to have the additional well by late summer to help supply more water. The demand for water in Jackson has never reached the supply limit. The maximum day demand expected this summer is about 3.3 million gallons, up from 1.87 million gallons in 1998.

The pushed-back deadline would give the contractors until Oct. 12 to complete the job, long after the peak season.

So far, Bollinger said water demand has been lower so far this July than usual and there has not been a supply problem.