AUBURN: City to blast underground granite off Parks Mill Road

During grading of the ground for the start of construction, an outcropping of granite was discovered.

And directly underneath the future home plate of the city’s first Pony League Baseball field is a “dome of rock” that has to be removed.

So on Feb. 3, the Auburn City Council approved a $12,000 rock-blasting contract with AA Drilling & Blasting, plus another $1,200 contract with the company, Seismic Imaging, to monitor the impact on nearby homes in the Hickory Ridge subdivision. The site is adjacent to Martin Marietta’s Quarry, and blasting is part of its operation.

Nevertheless, Seismic Imaging will set up seismographs in various locations to monitor the blasting impact and to be able to document it in case of damage claims.

City administrator Ron Griffith said the city’s blasting of an area of 2,700 cubic yards would begin as soon as the ground dries. The job should take about three days.

During the Feb. 3 meeting, the council also approved for the ball fields project purchases from vendors totaling $37,446 for pipe, headwalls and other storm water structures.

And because weeks of wet or snowy weather have delayed the start of construction, the city council also approved the expenditure of up to $75,000 to hire an additional contractor to enable the city to meet a spring deadline for the completion of the 300-foot Pony League field.

Public works director David Hawthorne said the city had received bids from two contractors and was awaiting a third. The lowest bid is under $53,000.

Griffith said engineering and other pre-construction costs had amounted to about $95,107, and the project’s total cost likely would be about $425,000. The sports facilities will be operated by the Dixie Youth League, and the Pony field will enable young teens to continue league play in Auburn, Griffith said.

Once the fields are complete and in operation, the city’s parks & leisure coordinator also will begin scheduling some adult games, he said.