Prevailing wage law saving Lexington sewer project dollars

The head of Lexington’s water quality division says the local government is about halfway through the almost $600 million sewer system overhaul.

The total bill could come in below that original estimate.

Water Quality Division Head Charlie Martin says Kentucky’s new prevailing wage law is helping to generate project savings.  Martin says two sewer projects were bid without prevailing wage and resulted in a 10 percent savings.

“My team is trying to complete the largest public works in the history of Lexington and every dollar that we save is ones that we save for our customers and for the residents of this community,” noted Martin.

Martin says that, for these two projects, the savings amounted to about a half million dollars.

The veteran government official says prevailing wage must still be used for projects involving federal dollars.

Martin appeared last week before council’s Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee to report on project progress.