City hopes to move Falls Avenue construction back
June 25, 2009
By Michael Rowe
The city of Snoqualmie is hoping that it can get permission to start work on a Falls Avenue revitalization project a little later than planned.
The city was due to start work on the project this fall, with a bid being awarded no later than September. The start time is included in the requirements for the $1.4 million grant Snoqualmie received from the Economic Development Administration.
Part of the project would relocate transformers and power lines along Falls Avenue. The city would like to put those underground, but there is some concern about what could happen if the underground power vaults are flooded. Excavation work is typically avoided during the rainy season to keep ditches from filling with water, and in Snoqualmie flooding is also a major worry.
Projects Manager Alan Lobdell told the City Council June 8 that the excavation and placement of electric utilities underground would take at least three months. So, if the project started in October, it could potentially run through the worst times for flooding in the city — November and January.
Lobdell said that he talked with an official at the EDA and sent a letter explaining why the city shouldn’t start the project when a flood might hit the area before the utility relocation is completed. He thinks the city has a good chance of getting an extension on the start date.
At the council meeting, Councilman Bryan Holloway questioned whether the project could be completed on time if the start date is pushed back.
Lobdell said that he thinks the whole project will take only seven months, and the grant gives the city two years, until Sept. 2011, to complete the work.
Holloway next asked what the fallback position was if the EDA refused to give the city an extension on the start date.
Lobdell said that work would start in October, if the city didn’t get an extension.
This would likely mean that the project wouldn’t relocate the power utilities underground. Paul Fuesel, a principal with the city’s design contractor KPG, said that he was exploring alternatives to locating the power utilities underground. One such alternative would be to place the transformers onto pads a few feet above street level and boxed in someway to minimize their appearance. The power boxes would be placed in boxes in sections of the street reserved for parking. Fuesel said that since the project was creating more parking spaces downtown, losing several spaces would not impact parking after the improvements are completed.
Lobdell said that the city’s plans wouldn’t change until they have heard back from the EDA on the start-time extension. If the EDA allows the start-time to be pushed back, the city will likely pursue the underground option with Puget Sound Energy.
Councilwoman Kathi Prewitt asked whether the work would impact tourism to the area. Lobdell said that there would be an impact. He noted that there would probably be temporary sidewalks around the work area and other interferences with business. Fuesel said that it was key to keep merchants and stakeholders informed about the project so that they can consider ways to work around the project.
If the city can’t come to an agreement with PSE for placing the utilities underground, it would cut about $500,000 of cost out of the project.
In addition to the $1.4 million in EDA grant money, the city has $1.8 million from a bond. Construction costs for the project are estimated at $2.3 million, but the overall cost of the project — including design and placing utilities underground — is about $3.5 million, leaving the city $300,000 shy of what it needs to fully fund the project.
The city has approached Congressman Dave Reichert’s office in search of some additional federal funding.
Besides the utility work, the project will include new street lighting, sidewalks, angled parking, and improvements to water, sewer and storm water control infrastructure on Falls Avenue.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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