PORT ANGELES — Traffic disruptions between Cherry and Valley streets in downtown Port Angeles are planned on and off through the end of April as crews move power, sewer and water lines to prepare for new construction.
The work is part of a 16-month, second phase of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) project in the downtown area of Port Angeles that began last week.
Marine Drive between the two streets was reduced to one lane during the day on Tuesday. That will continue through Friday, said Jeff Bender, the city’s project manager.
Subsequent intermittent closures on Marine Drive are planned through April, he added.
“There will be more interruptions,” Bender said.
The narrowing of the roadway appears to many to be on West Front Street but is actually on Marine Drive, city officials said.
The change from West Front Street to Marine Drive is at the curve after the intersection with Oak Street.
Bender said the Marine Drive portion of the project is expected to be complete before work begins on Front Street and Lincoln Street on May 1.
The project is part of a 2006 agreed order with the state Department of Ecology to reduce the number of overflows from city sewers into Port Angeles Harbor during major rainstorms.
TEK Construction Inc. of Bellingham was awarded the $15 million construction bid for Phase 2.
Crews with subcontractor Strider Construction are digging trenches under Marine Drive to continue the line of conduits and pipes that will eventually connect with the eastern portion of the downtown project, Bender said.
The crew installed new conduits to replace overhead power lines and poles last week in the alley between Front and First streets west of Cherry Street.
The present work is part of preparation to build a new pump station on a empty, triangular lot on 314 Marine Drive, Bender said.
Plans for the pump station building will use the same architectural style as The Gateway transit center to tie in with other elements in the downtown area, according to city documents.
The existing pump station, which is located across the street from the future pump station, will be torn down.
It will be replaced with landscaping appropriate for the adjacent Port Angeles Waterfront Trail after the new pump station is completed and certified operational, Bender said.
Phase 2 of the Port Angeles Combined Sewage Overflow project includes stormwater and sewer separation, new sewer and stormwater lines on Lincoln and Front streets, the construction of the new pump station and the removal of the existing pump station across the street from that location, according to city of Port Angeles documents.
New sewer and stormwater lines will be installed on Lincoln and Front streets, ending at the new station on Marine Drive.
Much of the work on Front and Lincoln streets is scheduled to be done at night.
Two lanes will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and one lane will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the roadwork portion of the project.
Other projects planned in conjunction with CSO construction will be the addition of bike boxes, brick crosswalks, landscaped bump-outs, and seal-coating and fresh striping, according to city documents.
The CSO project objective is to reduce sewage and wastewater overflows into Port Angeles Harbor by increasing sewer and stormwater capacity between downtown and the city’s wastewater treatment plant near the former Rayonier mill site.
Heavy rains can cause overflows by overwhelming city sewer lines, forcing excess water into the harbor through four outfalls.
Phase 1 construction lasted from March 2009 through July 2012, including extensive new sewer and included projects in the Rayonier mill site area, and new sewer and stormwater systems leading as far west as Railroad Avenue and North Oak Street.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
