Jonesville — For the next two years Jonesville residents will become accustomed to construction crews working around their town as work begins on an estimated two-year, $20 million water and sewer project.

The project is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development project with $15 million of funding coming from grants by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Bryant Hammett, town engineer and project manager, said the project consists of four projects and one sub-project.

 A water supply project includes drilling new wells, putting in generators and a booster station and cleaning and upgrading existing tanks. This project is an estimated $2.2 million.

 A water distribution project includes replacing the main water line and 80 percent of the lines in town as well as replacing fire hydrants. It also includes a sub-project to install all new automatic read “smart” meters for all commercial and residential customers. This project is an estimated $4.6 million.

 A sewer collection project includes replacing sewer collection lines by lining it, pipe bursting or installing new line. This project is an estimated $11.4 million.

 A sewer treatment plant project includes upgrading the current plant with new aerators, a new pond and installing auxiliary power. This project is an estimated $1.9 million.

Hammett said contractors have been hired for all four projects and that the meter sub-project will begin after the delivery of the new meters.

Hammett said the project is a large undertaking and was told by USDA officials that it’s the largest project it’s handled in Louisiana.

“The sheer magnitude of having five construction projects at the same time in the same area means there’s a lot of overlap,” Hammett said. “It’s a lot of activity in the little town of Jonesville.”

Hammett said this project has been in the works for nearly five years and that he and his team have worked hard to ensure the public is aware of the results of so much construction in the area.

“This is a good positive thing for the town because they’re getting all new infrastructure, but there are some inconveniences that come with that,” Hammett said. “They’re going to be magnified with this size of a project.”

Hammett said things like traffic blockages and low water pressure or outages are just some of the things that can result from the project.

With construction finally starting in early February, Hammett said he is glad all the hurdles were cleared to get the project rolling.

“We were very fortunate to receive the funding and be in the right place and the right time,” Hammett said. “It’s going to be a positive end result for the Town of Jonesville.”