PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Discovery Marathon won’t be impaired this year by the upcoming combined sewer overflow project, the Port Angeles City Council was told earlier this week, though it could see problems in 2012 and 2013.
Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director, told the council Tuesday that the construction contract for the first phase of the approximately $40 million project, which is intended to get control of the city’s sewage overflow problem, will be awarded in July, one month after the event.
The marathon is held on the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will be impacted by the project between downtown and the former Rayonier mill site.
Cutler said construction activity could create problems for the marathon during the following two years.
A schedule for the first phase of the project, expected to take 18 to 24 months, has not been set, but Cutler said he is working with the Port Angeles Marathon Association and the Peninsula Trails Coalition to make sure the annual event is impacted as little as possible.
“We’re trying to determine what accommodations the marathon needs to make it work,” Cutler said Wednesday.
In an e-mail, marathon association President Larry Little said he doesn’t expect any problems from the city.
“I have no reason to believe they would have any intent to not work as closely with the Port Angeles Marathon Association as possible for the benefit of our community,” he said.
Work could begin in July as soon as a contractor is selected, Cutler said.
But the most visible aspect of the project — the digging of large pits and trenches — won’t begin until sometime after the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival in October, Cutler said.
The pits will be dug on the trail near Hollywood Beach and at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Oak Street so that new sewer pipes can be slid into the city’s industrial waterline, which generally follows the trail to the former Rayonier mill site.
The new pipes will connect with a 5-million-gallon tank the city purchased from Rayonier in November to temporarily store untreated sewage and stormwater that would otherwise overflow into Port Angeles Harbor during heavy rainfall.
Cutler said he could not estimate yet exactly when the pits will be dug or how long they will be in place.
“I still have to get more information from our consultants and discussion with individuals in the community,” he said, referring to the Peninsula Trails Coalition and the marathon association.
Cutler said he will know the extent of the impacts by the time a request for proposals for the phase one contract is sent out this spring.
“I am very hopeful that the area between Francis [Street Park] and downtown will be minimally impacted,” he said.
Work downtown will be prohibited between Memorial Day and mid- to late October in order to avoid impacting the peak tourism season, Cutler said.
Another new sewer line will be connected to the waterline via Francis Street Park, causing another opportunity for trail closures.
Cutler said work at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which borders the trail, could also create problems for the marathon.
The purpose of the new infrastructure is to reduce the number of overflows of untreated effluent during heavy rainfall from up to 110 a year to no more than four on average by 2016, as required by the state Department of Ecology.
With use of the tank, overflows will still be possible, but the city and Ecology expect the structure to bring Port Angeles into compliance with state and federal water-quality laws.
The second phase of the project, which Cutler said should not impact the trail, involves the installation of new gravity sewer mains and a new pump station and force main downtown, as well as improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
As part of the project, the trail will be rerouted over a new pedestrian bridge so that it doesn’t take the detour around the treatment plant and large tank.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
