Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Last week Tuesday, an open house-style public meeting was held regarding the 4th Street Project. There, attendees learned the contractor intended to start Monday, July 29 with equipment move-in and mobilization and Tuesday, July 30 with the full project. However, the contractor wasted no time, starting the process of tearing up the street by lunchtime on Monday.
This means 4th Street will be closed from Main Avenue to Eastern Avenue until mid-to-late November, when Phase I is expected to wrap up.
Some side streets between 3rd and 4th will be closed for the same project. These include Center Avenue, Canyon Avenue, and Eastern Avenue.
The street closure will bring updated infrastructure to the area, which includes a larger water main (from 4" to 6"), sanitary sewer line, storm sewer, curb and gutter, new pavement, and the addition of sidewalks.
The project will be headed by engineering firm Sayre Associates, and the contractor is First Rate Excavate. The contracting company took over the 3rd Street/Main/Truck Route project back in 2020 after the city terminated its contract with Haarsma Construction, and First Rate was very efficient and produced high-quality work.
"They did a really good job cleaning up the mess [left by Haarsma]," said Public Works Supervisor Jordan Doane during the April 2024 city council meeting.
The 4th Street Project is expected to move fairly quickly, even with the delays in getting started this year. First, grant and loan funding slowed down the bid process, as the plans had to be approved by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. After the plans were approved, the bids went out in late March. The late bidding process meant that other projects for the contractor were first on the list.
"[First Rate] had other projects they were working on and wrapping up," said Sayre Associates Field Representative Cole Gebhart to the Gazette. However, both the city and Sayre representatives expect the contractor should be able to accomplish Phase I yet this year.
"I know it's an inconvenient project for you guys," Gebhart said during the meeting. It was going to be an open house and no formal presentation was planned, but he and Sayre representatives Thad Roberts and Trace Villbrandt ended up addressing all attendees as a whole.
"The city's got aging systems in terms of water and sewer in that street," Gebhart told the audience. "They're dealing with breaks. And, you know, it's not a feasible job to expect the city to bore all this and not rip up the street."
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During the meeting, several attendees were concerned for their mature trees. Not all will need to be removed as the contractor is planning to work around as many of them as possible. The tree line will be thinned out though, as those trees affected will be those that have water or sewer lines under them, or are placed too close to the right-of-way. Sayre representatives assured those in attendance they would do their best to preserve what trees they could, but approximately half of all the trees along the street may need to be removed.
Resident Joe Schmid, who was in attendance, encouraged his neighbors to research replacing their water or sewer lines during the project, if it was feasible for them.
"No need to have a break right after they replace everything else and have to dig up your yard again," he commented. Gebhart concurred, pointing out that private contractors can do that work more easily while the street is torn up.
Other concerns involved trash services and postal services.
For 2024, all postal services in the affected area will be moved to a single access point just south of the Palisades Healthcare front door, and packages can be picked up from the post office. Trash services will utilize the alleyways. The plans for 2025 will be communicated before Phase II begins.
The contractor and engineers from First Rate Excavate and Sayre Associates assured everyone that any specific requests will be taken under consideration, and all efforts would be made to ensure everyone had access to their homes. In some areas, especially during Phase II, that may mean the construction of temporary alleys or roadways, and non-enforcement of some city ordinances.
Sayre's representatives stated that at no time will access to the nursing home, medical clinic, or assisted living apartments be restricted, as it is one of the spaces slated for a temporary access point or roadway. Another temporary roadway may include the area behind the northeast section of homes along 4th, as they would otherwise have no access, but that decision will be made next spring.
However, for 2024, no traffic will be allowed on 4th Street between Main and Eastern, as the roadway will be completely torn up for infrastructure replacement. East-west traffic will be re-routed to Dows Street.
Phase II will begin next April, weather permitting. Phase II includes the area between Eastern and Oak Drive.
