PORT ANGELES — Construction began Monday on the second, 16-month phase of the combined sewer overflow project in the downtown area.
Crews with TEK Construction Inc. of Bellingham, which was awarded the $15 million construction bid, began using heavy equipment to tear up the alley between Front and First streets west of Oak Street on Monday.
They also began planning for excavation of an empty, triangular lot on 314 Marine Drive where a new pump station will be built.
The lot appears to many to be on West Front Street but is actually on Marine Drive, city officials said. It is just before the intersection with West First and Valley streets.
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.
The project will be completed in small phases to avoid disrupting business and parking, said Craig Fulton, Port Angeles city engineer.
New sewer and stormwater lines will be installed on Lincoln and Front streets, ending at the new station on Marine Drive.
Work on Front and Lincoln streets will begin in April and is expected to be complete by August, Fulton said.
Much of the work will be done at night, he said.
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.
Fulton said the exact date of the beginning of road construction is not yet available.
City engineers have met with downtown businesses to address business owners’ concerns about access and parking, he said.
Additional work will include construction of the new pump station, demolition of the existing pump station and landscaping.
The new pump station will be complete in July or August 2016, Fulton said.
Plans for the building will use the same architectural style as The Gateway transit center, to tie in with other existing elements in the downtown area, according to city documents.
SWCA Environmental Consultants of Seattle will provide an archaeologist to monitor the excavation at a cost of $26,000 to $40,000, according to city documents.
The current pump station, located across the street from the future pump station, will be torn down and replaced with landscaping appropriate for the adjacent Port Angeles Waterfront Trail, Fulton said.
Other projects the city plans in conjunction with construction will be the addition of bike boxes, brick crosswalks, landscaped bump-outs and seal-coating and fresh striping.
The project is part of a 2006 agreed order from the state Department of Ecology to reduce the number of overflow incidents from the city sewer during major rain events.
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.
