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Engineering lays out major FY2027 projects including lift‑station expansions, corridor grants and stormwater fixes
Summary
City engineers presented the FY2027 engineering budget, highlighting sanitary sewer lift‑station expansions in the Catfish Creek basin, east‑west corridor and B2E2 multimodal projects tied to federal BUILD/RAISE grants, and planned stormwater reconstruction at 17th & West Locust.
The Dubuque City engineering department presented its fiscal year 2027 budget to the council on April 7, outlining a slate of infrastructure projects staff say are intended to protect public health, support growth and leverage federal funding.
City Engineer Gus Seoya reviewed department staffing and recent accomplishments before laying out capital priorities. Major sewer projects include phase 3 and 4 expansions of the Old Mill lift‑station system in the Catfish Creek sewer shed. Seoya said those improvements will increase pipe diameters and lower alignment in key reaches, a change engineers expect will eliminate dry and wet weather overflows and expand capacity by roughly 1 million gallons per day in targeted reaches.
Staff described the Kerper Boulevard lift station and related works as a multi‑million dollar investment that will provide not only existing reliability but additional capacity for future development; Seoya said the new infrastructure provides roughly 20 million gallons per day of capacity and can be expanded to 30 million gallons per day.
On the roads and multimodal side, Assistant City Engineer Bob Schisel laid out corridor and grant work. The city has submitted an $18.5 million BUILD grant application for east‑west corridor improvements and budgeted about $4.1 million over 2027–2031 as the local match to leverage approximately $14.4 million in federal funds for final design, right‑of‑way and construction. Schisel also summarized the B2E2 (Building Bridges to Elevate Employment) project, which the city said has secured a $25 million RAISE capital grant and other local and partner commitments to reach the roughly $38.7 million package of improvements.
Stormwater remained a focus: Seoya highlighted decades of work on the Bree Branch watershed and described the 17th & West Locust reconstruction — a planned concrete box storm conveyance sized for a 25‑year storm — as a multi‑year effort to reduce neighborhood flooding.
Engineers told the council they will continue to pursue federal railroad safety and quiet‑zone funding after two unsuccessful FRA grant applications; staff said the planning‑level estimate to bring 12 downtown at‑grade crossings to required standards is approximately $3.7 million.
The council and public questioned staff about stormwater fee projections and why some projects (notably the 22nd & Kaufman project) were removed from the recommended five‑year CIP. Staff said multi‑fund coordination is required — street, water and sanitary funds often must be aligned — and that funding availability altered the five‑year forecast.
The department presented a mix of projects that officials said are necessary both to preserve aging infrastructure and to support near‑term economic development.
The council held the engineering budget public hearing and took comment; no formal votes on the engineering budget were recorded that evening.
