Procurement News Notice |
|
| PNN | 3480 |
| Work Detail | Representatives from the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System were in Worthington Wednesday, appearing before three separate boards to get the clearance they need to begin constructing the water line between Adrian and Worthington. The water system sought a variance to install a main water line paralleling 270th Street from Edwards Avenue east into the city of Worthington, as well as a permit to construct a 2-million-gallon water reservoir near the intersection of 270th Street and Monroe Avenue, approximately three miles west of town. This fourth phase of construction in Minnesota will ultimately deliver the much-anticipated and long-awaited Lewis & Clark water to Worthington, but the work will not happen as quickly as water system officials and local residents and business owners had hoped. “I had hoped we’d be here saying we’re going to start tomorrow,” said Dan Zulkosky, Lewis & Clark RWS construction administrator. The Minnesota Legislature’s failure to pass a bonding bill during its last session has funding on hold for the final phase of the water line’s expansion in southwest Minnesota. Zulkosky and Banner & Associates’ Dennis Odens, design engineer for this phase of the project, first appeared before Nobles County’s Joint Jurisdictional Committee, where they received approval for a variance and conditional use permit to construct the water line within the half-mile perimeter of Worthington. Two conditions placed on the permit include that Lewis & Clark be responsible for all costs associated with potential future damage to the line resulting from highway maintenance and construction; and that the permit be good through Dec. 31, 2018. Permits typically require that construction begin within one year, but because state bonding was not authorized, the permit was given a one-year extension. Odens and Zulkosky then met with the Nobles County Board of Adjustment to address the variance request for installation of the water line. The county’s setback requirements state construction can be no closer than 125 feet from the center of a county road without a variance. Odens sought a variance to allow Lewis & Clark to construct the water line 75 feet from the center of the county road -- a distance that would be the least disruptive to farmers, he said. In discussing the need for the variance, Odens said the project will start on Edwards Avenue, near Adrian, and follow 270th Street into Worthington. The line will cross the railroad tracks and four-lane Minnesota 60, following on the south side of the highway for a short distance before crossing back to the north and ultimately to the connection at the city’s water treatment plant. The diameter of the pipe will range from 24 inches to 16 inches, and will be buried a minimum of six feet, with sand cushioning the pipe. Board of Adjustment member Brent Feikema was concerned about tile lines damaged during the construction process and asked how Lewis & Clark will address that. “We have run into lots of tile lines,” Odens said. “The hard thing about tile is knowing where they’re at, and sometimes knowing where they’re at doesn’t help.” Odens said the cost to replace tile lines is built into the construction contract, and the contractor has a two-year warranty after water sales begin to Worthington if landowners encounter problems with their tile lines. There was also discussion about water line construction on the south side of Worthington. Odens said he is working with the new owner of land at the intersection of Minnesota 60 and Plotts Avenue (South Shore Acres), where the building of a new gas station is proposed. Odens wants the water line installed before pavement is poured at the site. “With the funding up in the air, it may be that Lewis & Clark has to put in that piece of pipe before anything else is let and then connect to it,” Odens said. The Board of Adjustment ultimately approved the variance request with the same conditions on the permit as the Joint Jurisdictional Committee had set. In the final meeting of the night, the Nobles County Planning Commission addressed Lewis & Clark’s request to construct a 2-million-gallon reservoir near the intersection of 270th Street and Monroe Avenue. The precast concrete storage tank will stand approximately 30 feet high and measure 106 feet in diameter, with enough storage to serve Worthington for one day while also backfeeding to Adrian and eventually to Sibley, Iowa, when that connection is built. The tank will be painted a neutral tone and feature the Lewis & Clark RWS logo. The tank will be surrounded by a chainlink fence. The Planning Commission approved the plan unanimously, and its recommendation will advance to the Nobles County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 6 for a final decision. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Construction |
| Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.dglobe.com/news/4101806-construction-plans-approved-lewis-clark |
