Astoria city engineer Kevin Brodie says bids will be opened next week for phase one of the Denver Street combined sewer overflow project, estimated to cost $1.1-million. Work to begin late this summer to lay new pipes up and down Denver and along Erie and Antwerp Avenues.
Only a few neighbors attend the city-sponsored open house Thursday night at the Astoria High School. One resident who lives on Franklin Avenue says a work schedule is needed to keep the public informed. He says paving issues remain from the work that took place on his street.
A resident on Erie Avenue expresses concern that a rock wall on his property could come down from the heavy vibrations. City engineer Kevin Brodie responds says contractors have liability insurance, but he advises the resident to take before and after photographs.
Caldwell and Brown consultant Phil Roppo (roe-poe) tells Dairy Queen owners Jill and Mike Storey that impact will be minimal to their business, with work to take place at an existing manhole. Roppo says that will take only about two days. The Storeys remain cautiously optimistic.
Phase two next year requires installing a storage facility underneath Tapiola Park. Jill Storey hopes the ballfield will quickly be restored to use for the kids. Phase two will cost six to eight-million dollars. Options for the storage facility include construction of pipes or a cement tank underneath Tapiola Park.
The latest combined sewer overflow project is part of the $20-million worth of CSO improvements mandated by the Department of Environmental Quality over the next twenty years to reduce or eliminate stormwater runoff into Young’s Bay and the Columbia River. The city will borrow money from DEQ’s loan program to pay for the improvements. An incremental schedule of sewer rate increases means that ratepayers pay back the loans.
