EMMITSBURG, Md. – All of the backhoes, jackhammers and other construction equipment is gone from South Seton Avenue and what’s left behind is a smooth new road, but it’s what is underneath that is more important.

“Everything on South Seton Avenue is serviced by a new main,” said Mayor James Hoover. “We modified the scope of work and improved the sidewalk and while the street was torn up, we had them run conduit to put street lights in.”

“There’s an airtight (stormwater) system that will last 100 years under there now,” said Kirby Delauter, whose company W.F. Delauter and Sons did the road work. “And what you have on top is a brand new street.”

The work that has been going on since Fall 2006 and traffic has been detoured around stretches of the road during work hours.

Hoover said the project “will improve the quality and appearance of South Seton and make it look better.”

However, the work needed to be done because the sewer and water lines under the road were undersized and beyond their life expectancy.

“They were clay lines,” Delauter said. “Some weren’t in bad shape but many were worn out.”

Because South Seton Avenue is a state road, there were certain conditions that governed when the work could and couldn’t be performed.

“Had we not had those restrictions probably could have cut that project time by 25-30 percent,” Hoover said.

The project cost just under $1 million and was financed with a 1.1 percent loan from the Maryland Department of the Environment.

All in all, Delauter said the project went smoothly and the state-imposed work restrictions had been anticipated.

“The town’s been good to work for,” Delauter said. “They tell you what they want and are fair about it. Some places like to play games.”