Due to the long awaited replacement of the crumbling retaining wall on Louisa Street in Darlington, the city is going to have to relocate the existing sewer and water laterals in order to avoid conflict with the new retaining wall.
    The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), who is responsible for the retaining wall, will begin bidding out the project in July and construction on the retaining wall is set to begin in September. 
    According to Jeremy Williams, Darlington’s director of public works, there are nine water laterals and 10 sewer laterals as well as two fire hydrants that will need to be relocated on Louisa Street, because of the replacement of the retaining wall, which according to plans will be moved back in order to put the sidewalk at street level.
    At this point the city is not aware of how much this project will cost, but they have accepted an engineering proposal for the project from Robert E. Lee & Associates, Inc., an engineering and surveying service.
    According to Williams, the state doesn’t normally contribute anything to the cost of projects like these, but that in this case they will pay for the percentage of the project’s work that falls into the new right-of-way that the state purchased.