Barge will be on Missouri next week for bore logs in early phase of water main river crossings
Beginning Monday, residents will notice activity on the Missouri River near Park Island and Meadowlark County Club. Activity will start on the Sun River neat the 6th Street Southwest bridge on Oct. 17.
The work is part of the city’s project to design water main crossings under the Missouri River.
In June, the city approved a $866,028 contract to Thomas Dean & Hoskins Engineering (TD&H) for the design phase of project.
The city is installing two new water main crossings under the Upper Missouri River and Sun River using Horizontal Directional Drill methods. The project will include some open cut trenching methods for a portion of the water main installation and at connections.
The barge on the Missouri River as part of the city’s project to install two water main river crossings. Photo by Darren Wood | Northwest Media
As part of the project design, bore logs are needed to determine types of soil and rock and the depths they are encountered, both on land and in the river channels, according to the public works department.
TD&H has contracted with Sletten Construction and O’Keefe Drilling for this portion.
Sletten will assemble a barge to transport a crane and drill rig, and O’Keefe will complete the necessary bore logs.
The additional mains would ensure adequate water pressure and quantity to the expanding city and provide redundancy for unexpected repairs on the city’s existing mains, according to public works.
According to city documents, a new 24-inch fusible C905 PVC pipe will be designed for directionally drilled installation under the Missouri River from Verde Park to Meadowlark Park. Additional open trench pipe installation will be constructed through parks and city rights-of-way in order to complete connections to the existing distribution system.
The barge on the Missouri River as part of the city’s project to install two water main river crossings. Photo by Darren Wood | Northwest Media
A new 20-inch water main of fusible C905 PVC material will be designed and bid for directional drilling installation under the Sun River, east of the 6th Street Southwest bridge.
The scope of work included in the recommended contract includes:
Design work consisting of:
- Securing necessary permits from Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Montana Department of Transportation, and Fish Wildlife and Parks, among others;
- Conduct geotechnical investigation both on land and in the Missouri and Sun River channels;
- Surveying for control points and project layout;
- Land acquisition for both temporary work and final easements;
- Produce bidding documents;
- Conduct project update meetings;
- Due to the technical nature of the HDD, provide project inspection duties.
TD&H would also be required to: conduct public hearings, as needed, to keep the public informed of the project progress and schedule; provide for a contractor pre-qualification screening process to ensure the city has a qualified and experienced pool of contractors for bidding the project.
This project is being funded through the city’s Water Capital Improvement Fund.
For more information contact Dustin Nett with TD&H at 761-3010 or Rick Johnson with the City of Great Falls at 771-1258.
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