The West Sixth Street highway improvement project will entail much more than resurfacing a deteriorated street.
That new surface won’t be applied until next year. This year will be devoted to preparatory work, such as building new retaining walls and leveling the hills and valleys in the road between Cottage Street and Union Street. A bike path is planned for the north side of the street, and new curbs, gutters and curb ramps are included.
And while they’re at it, the city will replace many water and sewer pipes in the west end of the city.
The plan calls for 6,000 feet of water and sewer mains and laterals to be installed, public works manager Chris Berry told the council at Monday’s meeting.
“We have no choice but to do it,” Berry said.
The mains in the area are “definitely past their service life,” he said. Some were made from materials that aren’t up to code, he added.
The estimated cost of the main replacement program is about $1.7 million. City officials hope grant money can be obtained to offset some of that cost.
Berry said engineers have recommended that the city replace 1,000 feet of water and sewer mains every year. The west-end project would cover six years’ worth of the replacements.
The total cost of the West Sixth Street project is estimated at just over $12.1 million. Of this, about $8 million would come from the federal government.
The state is to pay a little over $2 million, and the city’s cost is pegged at $2,009,277.
