by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
An ambitious sewer-and-water utilities project will be undertaken by Sartell in conjunction with the reconstruction of CR 29 by Benton County from the east side of the Sartell bridge almost to where CR 29 connects with Hwy. 15.
Sartell will replace and upsize sanitary sewer and water pipes in that and nearby areas. Some pipes will also be realigned in a neighborhood area north of CR 29.
The total cost for the project is expected to be about $4.3 million. A public hearing will be held in September regarding assessment rates that will help pay for the work.
The Sartell City Council voted to move forward with the project. All the details of the feasibility study were presented by Sartell City Engineer Jon Halter at the Aug. 14 council meeting. The plan was drawn up by the St. Cloud engineering firm of which Halter is an employee, Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.
After lengthy discussion, the council agreed to delay for a couple years a proposed project on the west side riverbank area of Sartell, which would involve a major project – replacement of a lift station located south of the Holiday gas station. The council was informed the lift station there can be repaired, if need be, until a total replacement can be achieved.
The following are highlights of the project:
- Benton County will reconstruct CR 29 from the east side of Sartell bridge up to 14th Avenue NE.
- Signal lights will be installed at the intersection of CR 29 and Benton Drive, where the east end of the Sartell bridge is situated. Currently, that intersection is a four-way stop area, and traffic gets backed up for blocks both ways, east and west, during busy times of the day.
- The city will replace and upsize the trunk sanitary-sewer pipe under CR 29 from Third Avenue NE to 12th Avenue E.
- The trunk sanitary sewer will be realigned to go north on Third Avenue NE and then north on the east side of First Avenue NE up to Third Street NE. The realignment is necessary because the pipe alignment now at the intersection of Benton Drive and CR 29 can cause serious traffic disruptions at that intersection if the lines must be checked and/or repaired.
- Replace and upsize trunk water main to go north of Third Avenue NE and west of Second Street NE and then north on the east side of First Avenue NE to Third Street NE. (See item above about realigned sewer pipe.)
- Reconstruct the street along one block of Third Avenue NE. and a half-block stretch of street on Second Street NE to accommodate the realignment of sewer and water pipes that will be installed in that area.
- Replace and upsize the water main under CR 29 from Third Avenue NE to Fifth Avenue NE.
- Replace and upsize the sanitary sewer under the former Verso paper mill site.
- Replace and upsize the sewer pipe and water pipe that are attached to the “Old Bridge” across the river. That bridge was built in 1914 by the Minneapolis Steel & Machine Co. and for decades served as a vehicle and pedestrian bridge. It was closed to traffic in 1985 when it was retrofit into a utility-bearing bridge. Minor repairs to that bridge can extend its life by up to 25 years, according to Sartell Public Works Director John Kothenbeutel.
