PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council today will consider ratifying an emergency declaration for December repairs to the 1915 sewer main that runs under South Lincoln Street.
City Manager Nathan West declared an emergency Dec. 11 after a 50-foot section of the 24-inch concrete sewer main collapsed under Lincoln Street between Fourth and Fifth streets Dec. 10.
The emergency declaration enabled the city to hire Bruch and Bruch Construction of Port Angeles to repair the sewer at a cost of $152,000, Public Works and Utilities Director Thomas Hunter said in a memo to the council.
“The failed segment was installed in 1915 and serves as the primary sanitary main for approximately 3,000 city customers,” Hunter said.
“Due to the collapse, the main was experiencing diminished flow. It was necessary to take immediate action to eliminate the risk of sewage overflow into commercial and/or residential property and restore essential wastewater services.”
City staff discovered the collapse during routine monitoring maintenance, Hunter said.
Lincoln Street was closed between Fourth and Fifth streets from Dec. 11 to Dec. 14.
Rainfall and the age of the fill under South Lincoln Street slowed the crew’s progress, city officials said.
The original contract was issued for a not-to-exceed $100,000. It later became necessary to issue a change order, increasing the limit to $152,000, Hunter said.
“Final asphalt restoration work will be performed when the weather warms and asphalt supplies are readily available,” Hunter said in his memo.
Funding from the emergency contract came from the 2019 wastewater fund budget, Hunter said.
The failed section of sewer main was installed as part of the original county sewer in 1915, West said in his emergency declaration.
It still serves as the sanitary sewer interceptor for the city’s central residential area and commercial corridor along Lincoln Street, serving about 60 residential blocks and 20 commercial blocks, West said.
The City Council is expected to ratify the Dec. 11 emergency declaration when it meets at 6 p.m. today.
The meeting will be held in the City Council chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
