The following update to the Kirby storm sewer project was left as a comment in this post by reader robt.
Here’s the latest on the Kirby storm sewer project as presented to the University Place Association annual meeting on April 10th by representatives of Public Works and Turner Collie and Braden:
Segment 2, which is now in progress and runs north to Swift, is currently 80 days behind schedule and held up at the moment by safety issues with the trenching.
A new contractor takes over for Segment 3 which runs from Swift north to Robinhood. Work on this phase will commence as soon as all Segment 2 sewer boxes are laid, but before repaving, no earlier than June of this year. There will be work going on concurrently on Segments 2 and 3 while Segment 2 is being paved. Segment 3 has a 470 day time line, including a 76 day slowdown during the holidays to facilitate traffic flow. Completion is set for August ’08 at the earliest. ( A side note here: Businesses on the west side of Kirby will be without access for periods of at least two weeks while the construction passes by, as the city of West University does not allow access to commercial developments fronting Kirby from the city’s east-west side streets). Meanwhile, just east of Kirby, construction of the Sonoma, the 7-story development on Bolsover between Kelvin and Morningside which promises to redefine Village living, will be underway at this time.
Segment 4 includes new sewer lines north from Robinhood to Quenby, then east on Quenby to Greenbrier or thereabouts, and repaving of Kirby as far north as 59. Segment 4 is currently scheduled for a January ’09 start with completion in March 2010.
And finally, you may notice that the intersection at Kirby and Holcombe was paved with asphalt rather than concrete (at the behest of the Kirby beautification folks) to facilitate installation of the new paving design and crosswalks when the money becomes available. This of course will necessitate tearing up the intersection yet again.
Start scouting your alternate routes now.
Brace yourself. This is gonna be a long and ugly ride.