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Council and staff outline staging and impacts for multi-part water infrastructure work
Summary
City engineers described construction stages, traffic impacts and alternates for the Phase 2 water infrastructure contract and the Well 9 improvements; construction is expected to begin in spring with public communications planned.
City staff on Oct. 14 described how the Phase 2 water infrastructure work and Well 9 improvements will be staged and how the city expects to limit disruption to businesses and residents.
Why it matters: The projects are part of a multi-year, roughly $10.3 million program that the council is funding in part with PFA grant money. Phase 2 upgrades include upsizing mains, adding redundancy and routing treated and raw lines closer to the planned plant site; the Well 9 work includes drilling and abandonment of an older well.
What staff said: Matt Baumann, city engineer, told the council the Phase 2 bid included three alternates added to maximize available grant funding and to extend mains toward the proposed plant. He recommended awarding the base bid and all alternates to Minger Construction, noting the low bid was about 1% above the engineer's estimate and substantially below the high bid. Baumann said, "we recommend awarding all three base and alternates to Minger Construction" (quote from staff presentation).
Baumann described the contractor's work by stages: early-stage boring or pipe bursting to limit full road closures, a multi-week closure at a pinch point in stage 3, and neighborhood line replacements in later stages. He said most roadway work will be next spring and staff will run public-notification campaigns and consider electronic signage for detour messaging. Council members asked staff to coordinate schedules with county milling/overlay and with planned local events; staff agreed and said they would not start work in that pinch area within a week of the Lakes event.
On Well 9, Baumann and project staff said drillers have established procedures and the bid was a lump-sum award to American Liberty Construction; designers expect drilling depths within planned ranges. City staff said contingencies remain in the overall $10.3 million program should unforeseen conditions arise.
Public communications and traffic: Staff said they will provide electronic signage, newsletters and targeted notices once final construction windows are known. Baumann said the city plans to use pipe-bursting and directional drilling where feasible to minimize surface disruption.
Contractor history: Council members noted Minger Construction previously completed city work, and staff confirmed familiarity with that contractor.
Next steps: Execute contracts (awards were approved under separate vote), confirm staging and public notification timelines and begin work early next construction season.
Sources: City engineer presentation and council discussion at the Oct. 14 meeting.
