Monroe City Council voted unanimously last week to proceed with modifications to the East Main and Lewis Street Combined Sewer Separation project, which will now include permanent removal of the vertical curbing.
Curbing along both sides of East Main Street from Lewis to Ferry streets will be removed, leaving the sidewalk area flush with the parking area.
The goal is to create a more contiguous space to better facilitate street fairs and other festivals in the downtown area. Removable plastic wheel stops will be added to prevent cars from intruding too far onto the sidewalk's pedestrian area.
Intended to separate the stormwater from the sanitary sewer system, the Combined Sewer Separation project uses pervious concrete. The concrete will be installed in the parking lanes along Lewis Street from just south of Fremont to the alleyway north of Main Street. On East Main Street from Lewis Street to Ferry Avenue, the sidewalks will be removed and replaced with pervious concrete, and the parking lane will be constructed out of a material called PaveDrain.
Since the pervious concrete takes approximately two weeks to cure before it can accommodate the weight of a vehicle, city engineers decided to use PaveDrain in the parking areas along Main Street, so vehicles can park on it immediately.
Construction will be staggered so that only one side of Main Street will be impacted at a time. The project is expected to take approximately three months; foot access along Main Street will be maintained throughout.
The project does not include any alterations to the roadway.
Meant to save the city money in the long run, once the pervious concrete is installed, stormwater will be processed by passing straight through the pervious material into an infiltration bed installed underground. By bypassing the city's sanitary sewer system, more than 7 million gallons of stormwater will no longer be processed at the wastewater treatment plant, saving the city roughly $2,600 annually in electrical costs and 30,000 KWH of electricity.
Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in April, with a completion date of June 30.
The project is largely being funded by a Washington State Department of Ecology grant. The total project costs are being estimated at $1,042,593, with $781,945 coming from the ecology grant. The city's financial obligation is expected to be approximately $260,648, plus an additional $20,000 estimated for the removable plastic wheel stops.
West Main Street project-á
The council also authorized a new capital improvement project for West Main Street, from Lewis to North Blakeley streets, which will essentially mirror the design elements incorporated into the Combined Sewer Separation project. Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas is hopeful that both projects can be completed in time for the Monroe Fair Days Parade in late August.
The costs for the West Main Street project are estimated at $450,000: $330,000 for the construction, $100,000 for a consultant to complete the design and $20,000 for the removable plastic wheel stops. The city plans on using capital improvement project funds from both the sewer and stormwater funds to pay for the construction and the design.
Further review will be needed to determine where the funding for the removable plastic wheel stops will come from. The council hopes to use real estate excise tax funding, but if the amounts in that fund are deficient, they may consider utilizing the city's contingency fund, which is meant for special projects and other one-time expenditures.
With the green light to begin the new project, city staff will proceed with obtaining a topographical survey of the area. A geotechnical consultant will conduct subsurface studies to collect data on the ground's infiltration rates, as well as the soil's capacity for treating stormwater.
Once the preliminary project analysis is complete, the design portion of the project can be finalized. Senior Engineer Jim Gardner is hopeful that the city can put the project out for bid by May, with the contract awarded in June. Construction could begin shortly thereafter.
"If we're going to have this done by the middle of August, they really have to start construction on it probably by the first of July,GÇ¥ Gardner said. "That'll give them six weeks to get it done.GÇ¥
It is anticipated that both Main Street projects will help with the initiative to revitalize Monroe's downtown core.
"I'm really excited about it,GÇ¥ Thomas said. "I'm happy that council was willing to listen to the ideas, and I'm looking forward to completing the project.GÇ¥
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