City briefs residents on ambitious project list

Less than a dozen citizens and business owners attended the City of Ritzville’s open house Tuesday to learn more about a series of construction projects and infrastructure improvement efforts that will be underway throughout the summer and into the fall.

Engineers from Varela & Associates mingled with the audience during the informal session, gathering around a wall that displayed the maps of the major projects and explanations of the costs and timelines for each.

Ritzville City Council members also attended the session, but served more as witnesses than participants as the engineers handled the various questions, the majority of which surrounded the West First Avenue improvements, which will create obstacles for traffic during the summer long road reconstruction project.

City Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins prepared a number of documents for the meeting including a breakdown of each project that addressed the estimated construction timeline, cost of the construction and how the project was funded.

Major water system improvements are underway. Those include the drilling of a new well, construction of a water booster pump system to improve the delivery of water to businesses along Interstate 90 and replacement of 10,000 lineal feet of water main throughout the city.

The projects’ primary funding source is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The funding package totals $5,893,000. Of that, $1,767,900 comes in the form of a grant. Taxpayers, over the length of the loan will repay $4,125,100.

Construction of the new 2,000-gallon-per-minute domestic water well, the well pump house and the cleaning and recoating of the water storage standpipe at the golf course is expected to cost $3,662,000. Construction of the booster pump station and the installation of replacement water mains will cost $2,231,000.

The following is a breakdown of all the projects that will occur throughout the remainder of 2013 and 2014:

• Well No. 9 Construction: Schneider Equipment and Drilling of St. Paul, Ore., won the project with a bid of $1,075, 536.36 to drill the 2,000-foot well. During Tuesday’s meeting Varela & Associates reported that Schneider had drilled 887 feet and encountered a hard spot. The project is funded by the DWSRF loan and is expected to be complete by Oct. 5. Construction of the well pump house will follow as a separate project.

• Well pump house and distribution line: This project will follow the completion of the No. 9 well drilling. Installation of the pump and construction of the pump house is not planned until 2014. Cost of the project is estimated at $1,378,000 and will be funded by the DWSRF loan. The current plan calls for construction to begin in February and be completed in June.

• Weber Road Booster Station: This project is under construction, commencing in June and continuing into October. The project cost is $460,582.

Funding for the project is coming from the DWSRF loan. The city is also providing up to $178,582 in funding from its water fund. The contractor for the project is Kirby Hunt Construction.

• Distribution line improvements: This project will result in the replacement of 10,000 lineal feet of water main throughout the city on numerous streets and at the fairgrounds. The project will replace lines on Main Avenue, Broadway Avenue, Lincoln Street, Jefferson Street, West First Avenue, Cascade Street, Seventh Avenue, Ninth Avenue, Tenth Avenue and Weber Road. The estimated project cost is $1,100,000. The city has not yet called for bids. The construction period is expected to span from August to October.

• Walk and bike path: Adams County will construct phase two of this project beginning in July along Weber Road. The $196,812 project is funded by a QUADCO RTPO grant. The funds come from the Washington State Department of Transportation and Federal Enhancement funds. The project engineer and contractor is Adams County. Project completion is expected to be in October.

• First Avenue reconstruction and sidewalk project: This project will remove the existing roadway between Division Street and Jackson Street at a cost of $768,243. The majority of the funding is provided by the Transportation Improvement Board. The city’s required project match of $38,412 will come from its Street Fund. Construction will commence in July and continue until October. The contract for construction has not been awarded. This project will result in traffic flow revisions as the existing pavement is removed, replacement water lines installed and the new road surface put down. During much of the project First Avenue will have just one lane of controlled traffic. Additional information will follow when construction is about to begin.

• Pru Field pavement preservation: The entire runway and taxiway will be resurfaced thanks to funding from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division. The city’s required project match is $15,094 and will come out of Current Expense. The project cost is estimated at $271,689. Construction will occur between July and September. C.R. Contracting was awarded the construction bid.

• Smitty’s Boulevard, Division Street and Bauman Road intersection improvements: This project will result in a major revision to the complicated three-way intersection. The project cost is estimated at $655,874. Funding comes from the Transportation Improvement Board. The city’s required project match of $65,587 will come from its Street Fund. The city is currently seeking construction bids. The project is expected the start in July and be completed in October.

The project will extend pavement and sidewalks to the entrance of Cow Creek Mercantile, create a free sweeping left turn off of Bauman Road onto Division Street and install a large grassy area in front of Zip’s Drive-In in order to create a controlled right turn onto Bauman Road heading north.