Engineer details downtown water plan

New 16-inch-diameter, ductile iron underground water lines are the centerpiece of a project to upgrade the infrastructure in downtown Lewiston.

A picture showing where the lines would be installed was presented at a Wednesday open house about the project by Phil Boyd, a principal engineer with Welch Comer, a Coeur d’Alene firm handling preliminary design and public engagement for the work.

One section of the line would be on Main Street between Fifth and Ninth streets. Another would be installed on D Street between First and Fifth streets. A third section would run on Third Street between D and Beachy streets.

That work is being covered with about $3.2 million the city has in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Those funds have to be obligated by the end of this year and spent by the end of 2026.

Other sections would be included if a bond passes in the spring that is being configured so property taxes wouldn’t be affected, said City of Lewiston Public Works Director Dustin Johnson.

One starts on Snake River Avenue west of First Avenue, goes north and then heads along Main Street to Fifth Street.

A leg would be put on First Street between Main and D streets. New line would also be installed on D Street between Temple Lane and Seventh Street.

The new lines would replace a network that was constructed in 1909 and 1920 that range from 4 inches to 12 inches in diameter, Johnson said.

At the time those lines were installed, buildings typically didn’t have sprinkler systems to suppress fires or as many bathrooms as they do now, he said.

“These lines are antiquated,” Johnson said.

The project would also include upgrades to the sewer, streets and stormwater collection system through replacing curbs, gutters and roads.

The commercial district has a system of pipes that gather stormwater and carry it to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ponds by the levee where it is treated before being released into the river, Johnson said.

The issue is that the lanes for vehicles, curbs and gutters along Main and D streets between First and Ninth streets as well as on some side streets weren’t designed to direct stormwater into the system, Johnson said.

That creates situations where water ponds on the roads during heavy rains, a problem that was worsened by planters that were installed along Main Street in the early 1980s, he said.

Those upgrades would be in addition to a new design for traffic in downtown. A preliminary design includes three roundabouts.

Two roundabouts would be immediately east of the Interstate Bridge on Main Street. They would regulate traffic entering and exiting the bridge, as well as Main Street’s intersections with Snake River Avenue and First Street. The third roundabout would be installed at First and D streets.

Two-way traffic would be introduced on Main and D streets. Right now Main Street is one way carrying eastbound traffic between First and 11th streets. D Street runs parallel to Main Street with westbound traffic in that same section.

“Currently with the one-way (streets) and the bypass, there are a lot of required left turns and long loops in order to get into the right lane to get on and off the (Interstate) Bridge or onto the bypass,” Johnson said. “Roundabouts would better match the traffic flows coming from the new Clarkston roundabout.”

The public can provide comments on the proposal at reimaginedtlewiston.org. It is scheduled to be on the city council agenda Dec. 9.

The project would be paid for with a number of resources. Besides the ARPA money, the city would draw on money earmarked for infrastructure in the existing rates Lewiston property owners pay for sewer, water and stormwater and a bond that would go before voters.

Taxes wouldn’t increase if the bond passed. That’s because it would be repaid with a portion of the $1.5 million to $2.3 million annually the city has earmarked for repairs and construction of major streets the city has already been setting aside in its budgets for the last three years.

Completing all of the proposed upgrades in a single project has a number of advantages, according to supporters of the improvements.

One big project is more cost-efficient and creates less disruption for downtown Lewiston businesses, Boyd said.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.