Initial work to prepare for the new Gore Hill water tower has been completed and on Tuesday, the City Commission will be asked to approve final payment of $12,014.39 to Ed Boland Construction and $121.36 to the State Miscellaneous Tax Fund.

The project installed a new water main that will service the new water tower, scheduled for construction beginning in 2018. The new tower will be built across the interstate from the existing tower near the airport.

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The new water main created a looped system by connecting to existing water mains located near the northeast corner of the Crystal Inn’s property and at the intersection of 38th Avenue Southwest and 29th Street Southwest, according to the staff report. The new water main runs north of the Flying J property on land that the city purchased for the new water tower. The main runs in an existing utility easement on the eastern edge of the Flying J property and is a 16-inch diameter transmission main that provides capacity for future extensions should additional property in the area develop and annex into the city.

The project installed 1,452 lineal feet of 12-inch and 16-inch C900 PVC water main pipe; installed two new fire hydrants; installed 10 new valves; and stubbed out the water main piping for connecting to the future water tower.

The project was completed for $35,246 under the amount originally approved. The difference was due to the uncertainty associated with the suitability of the subsurface soils, but over excavation of unsuitable soils and importing suitable backfilling material wasn’t required to the extent estimated during the design of the project, according to the staff report.

Seven bids were received for the project ands opening in June. The bids ranged from $277,961 to $486,248 with Ed Boland Construction submitting the lowest bids and meeting the city’s requirements. The project is funded through the Water Capital Improvement Fund.

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The work includes a two-year warranty that began at the time of substantial completion on Sept. 6.

The two-year warranty period started at the time of substantial completion which was September 6, 2017. Fiscal Impact: Funding for this project is through the Water Capital Improvement fund.

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During construction, water was temporarily shut off to the Crystal Inn, Flying J Travel Plaza and the Great Falls Ice Plex while gate valves were installed, but the outage was less than four hours and staff notified the businesses in advance. The contract also required that the outage occur during the least disruptive times as identified by the Crystal Inn.

The city has a professional services agreement with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, AE2S. The firm provided the design and construction documents for this project and is also doing so for the new water tower. City staff conducts construction inspections and contract administration for the project.