Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Old Town Steamboat Springs residents in the neighborhood near Soda Creek Elementary School will see utility construction for about the next 30 days.
Greg Buxton, a utility engineer with the city, said crews from Native Excavating will be replacing about 1,200 feet of sewer mains and laterals on Laurel Street, Park Avenue and at the intersection of Grand Street and Park Avenue. Native Excavating was the low bidder on the approximately $127,000 project.
Public Works Director Jim Weber said the construction crews will try to work on one side of the street at a time. The city expects that, at times, access to private residences will be limited, but the contractor is required to notify occupants 24 hours in advance. Traffic will be detoured to Logan, Grand, Larimer and North Park Road.
At other times, crews from Native Excavating will knock on doors to let residents know their appliances and sanitary facilities won't be connected to the sewer main for a period of time.
They can't require people to stop using their sanitary facilities as well as dishwashers, laundry equipment and showers, Weber, said, but cooperation in that regard will be sought.
Buxton, who has worked for the city for less than a year, said this is the first time he has seen manholes built of brick and mortar outside of a book.
"It's old stuff," Buxton said. "I don't know if it's original, but it's as close to original as you can get."
Buxton said the brick manholes will be replaced by precast concrete, and existing clay sewer lines will be replaced by PVC pipe.
In some cases, the clay sewer lines have cracks, a condition which allows ground water to infiltrate the sewer line. The infiltration adds to the load at the city's wastewater treatment plant and effectively reduces its capacity, Buxton said.
Homeowners with questions about the construction may call Native Excavating at 879-6231, or the city utility department at 871-6303.

To reach Tom Ross call 871-4210 or e-mail tomross@amigo.net