PORT ANGELES — A downtown stormwater project set for next year will be more disruptive to traffic than the paving of Front Street last July, downtown business owners were told Tuesday morning.
But the city of Port Angeles will do what it can to lessen the impacts on traffic and businesses, said Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director.
“No matter what approach I take on it, someone is going to be inconvenienced,” he told members of the Port Angeles Downtown Association.
The approximately $1.5 million project will result in a new stormwater collection system under the south side lane of First Street between Valley and Laurel streets.
March or April start
It is expected to last for about eight weeks and start in March or April, Cutler said. The work will occur at night, but the road will be restricted to one lane during construction.
The stormwater project would collect water from nearby roof drains that is currently dumped into the city’s sewers and dump it into Valley Creek. The water would be treated, Cutler said.
The project is paid for by the National Park Service and is part of the $350 million project to remove the two Elwha River dams.
As part of that federal project, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe will be connected to the city’s sewer system.
The Park Service has said that removing the dams will cause the groundwater level on the tribe’s reservation to rise and make the tribe’s septic tanks unusable.
The tribe’s wastewater will contribute to the city’s sewage overflow problem, and the federal agency has chosen to create the new storm water collection system to offset that impact.
As part of that project, the city intends to have both lanes of the street repaved, Cutler said. The Park Service will pay to repave the south side lane while the city would be responsible for the north side lane, he said.
Bike lanes added
Also, bike lanes will be added, the crosswalks made out of brick will be replaced, and a new crosswalk will likely be placed in between Cherry and Vine streets, Cutler said.
The crosswalks, made of brick, aren’t durable enough to withstand the heavy truck traffic on First Street, he said.
They will be replaced with concrete that will have a brick-like pattern stamped into it.
Cutler told downtown association members that cutting into the concrete beneath the pavement on one side of the road could have adverse impacts on the street.
Cutting the slabs into smaller pieces could result in portions of the street settling, or sinking, more than others, he said.
“It’s an engineering issue that will be addressed into the design,” he said after the meeting.
Downtown association members asked if the work could begin in February to lessen the impact on businesses.
Cutler said weather would be an issue and that he doesn’t expect the design of the collection system to be complete by then.
From July 26 through Aug. 1, Front Street was closed between Lincoln and Oak streets for repaving.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
