More than two years after a public hearing for flooding issues on and around Lewis Street NW, Town Council approved a contract last night that will allow engineers to begin designing street and drainage improvements for the road.

The $96,000 contract to Wiley Wilson, the town's on-call engineering firm, includes surveying, soil borings, design drawing preparation, citizen meetings and staking the proposed curb, according to the proposal submitted by the firm. But Town Manager John Schoeberlein said it would likely be another eight months at best before a final plan is back on the Council's table for approval.

"Realistically, you're looking at no construction until after first of the year of 2012," he said.  "That's maybe even a bit optimistic."

It's a project that some residents said has been years in the making.

""We've been hearing about this for 20 years," Lewis Street resident Lawrence Beer said. "So this design will actually be built?"

There is about 250 feet of gutter, sidewalk and curb along the 1,500-foot stretch of Lewis Street that runs between West and Knoll Streets, according to the proposal.

In 2009,  Tri-Tek Engineering presented residents and the council with three options. The Council chose Option 1, which involves storm water piping, inlets, gutter, sidewalk and curb construction. It was the most expensive of the three plans, estimated to be between $1.6 and $1.8 million, according to Tri-Tek estimates.

Though Wiley Wilson will draft their own design, their plan will be modeled off of that option, said Michael Gallagher, a civil engineer with the town.

Schoeberlein said funding is in place for Part I of a Lewis Street project. Beer's wife, Lyn, asked what that entailed, and if Wiley Wilson's plan would allow the town to complete the first phase of the project even if there was not enough money for phase two.

"We wont know [what phase one is] until the plan is done and we get a good solid estimate," Schoeberlein said. "They will design the entire project -- funding is not there for entire project."

Wiley Wilson will hold several citizen meetings during the next few months to receive input about the project, Shoeberlein said.