Arthur, ND – Water Main Replacement

Challenge

The City of Arthur had a water main that was near the end of its useful life and in need of replacement.  The existing water main was asbestos cement pipe, which is brittle and can break easily in the Red River Valley soils during freeze-thaw cycles.  The city also had numerous gate valves and fire hydrants that weren’t working properly.

The city also had a small stretch of sanitary sewer that was below minimum grade and extremely shallow.  These two problems caused the sanitary sewer main to freeze during the winter months as it was at the end of a sanitary sewer main run and didn’t have enough flow going through the sanitary sewer to keep the sewer moving during the cold months.

The city was in need of improvements to their water tower, including safety improvements, sandblasting, and re-coating.  The tower’s controls and communication system and valve/meter vault at the connection with Cass Rural Water needed improvements as well. The city also wanted to improve the communication and alarm systems on their sanitary sewer lift stations.

Lastly, a street rehabilitation project was in order, as the age of their existing streets were nearing the typical maintenance time.  On top of replacing the asphalt where utilities were replaced, the city wanted to complete a mill and overlay of the remaining street section and seal coat to prolong the life of the asphalt.

Solution

The city chose replaced all the water main throughout the city, two blocks of sanitary sewer main, and the street improvements under the original scope of the project. Upon bidding that part of the project as the original scope, the city had enough funds to complete improvements to the tower, valve/meter vault, and lift stations with remaining funds.

Moore Engineering completed a detailed review of the ages of the existing underground utilities including reviewing televising of the sanitary sewer main in question.  Moore also worked with a geotechnical engineer to complete soil borings and street cores to review the existing soil conditions and street conditions.

Moore Engineering held meetings with the City Council, City Public Works Committee, and residents of the city to discuss the potential project.  Through these meetings, the City was able to work with Moore Engineering to put a plan together for the underground replacement and street replacement.

Moore Engineering assisted the city in applying for funding through two different funding sources.  Funding was applied for through the Community Development Block Grant organization and United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development (USDA – RD).  The city was able to secure a loan/grant combination through USDA – RD for approximately a 45% grant and secured a low interest loan for the street work that did not qualify for USDA – RD funding.

Project Outcome

Moore Engineering completed and secured a funding application for the project and completed a detailed Engineer’s Report on project cost and scope based on the review of the utilities and meetings with the city.  Moore then completed the design, prepared detailed plans and specifications, and coordinated the bidding process through the award of a contract. Moore Engineering prepared the USDA – RD application for funding and is administering all funding pay requests and completing all closeout documentation required by the funding agency.

Moore Engineering provided a full time resident project representative that produced daily construction logs, photos, weekly quantity reports, and pay estimates on a monthly basis. The project engineer and resident project representatives worked with the contractor to minimize disturbances and notify residents and businesses of projected construction activity ahead of construction.

Moore Engineering created a project blog to provide project information and updates to residents and businesses on an as-needed basis, which was accessibly through the city website and Moore Engineering’s website. All water main was replaced, the sanitary sewer area in question was replaced, and all the streets in the city received a new surface.  The city is still working to spend the remaining funds on the project on the tower, communications for the system, and valve/meter vault.  This work is expected to take place during the summer of 2018.