OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Temporary traffic lights were in place on Brigham Road last week near Sixth Street, ahead of a scheduled water line connection in the area.

A water pipe replacement project in Dunkirk’s Second Ward is nearly finished, Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury said in a wide-ranging update on projects last week.

Woodbury told the Common Council’s Finance Committee that a 20-inch line which used to run down Lucas Avenue has been fully replaced with a new pipe that’s closer to West Sixth and Seventh streets. The last major work on that is a connection to Brigham Road piping, he said.

That job will be finished “soon,” he said. Woodbury later told the OBSERVER that general contractor H&K Services, from Leon, will handle it. Signage and temporary traffic signals, to make the roadway one lane, are already deployed on Brigham Road in association with the work.

Woodbury said the new pipe offers Second Ward residents better fire hydrant protection. “We’re getting a lot of calls from people thanking us for doing that,” he asserted.

In another water project update, Woodbury said the booster station on Main Street Extension has been completely rewired.

“It’s a critical pump station for all of the Third Ward and also the North County Water District on Vineyard Drive, on Route 60,” he said. Dunkirk is the sole supplier of water to the district, which includes several neighboring municipalities.

Woodbury suggested having a future Department of Public Works Committee meeting at the booster station, so he could explain the work in person.

The DPW director also offered information about ongoing work at the wastewater treatment plant.

Engineers are preparing proposals for a new phase of renovations, he said. The current phase, which involves improving ventilation for plant operators, is about half finished.

Woodbury said the new air handling system will make working conditions safer for employees. He said it should be done “in a couple of months.”