City Commissioners will consider awarding a $858,950 contract to Planned and Engineered Construction Inc. during their March 21 meeting for the next phase of the sanitary sewer trenchless rehabilitation project.

Staff recommends awarding the contract.

This phase will restore 18,153 linear feet of varying diameter sewer main, or the equivalent of 42 city blocks, according to city staff.

The mains primarily serve residential areas, according to staff.

The project is a continuation of previous projects to rehabilitate deteriorated sewer mains using trenchless technology that is less disruptive than traditional open trenching and pipe replacement.

The sewer mains are functioning, but are aged and deteriorated, developing pits, crack and holes, according to staff, and that can lead to raw sewage leaking into ground water and can make routine maintenance difficult. The project lessen sewer disruptions and maintenance issues to ensure the system operates effectively for the next 80 years, according to staff.

The contractor is using cured-in-place-pipe to line 18,153 linear feet of 8-, 9-, 10- and 15-inch diameter sewer mains at 68 locations throughout the city.

The city received three bids for the project, ranging from $858,950 to $1.2 million, with Planned and Engineered Construction submitting the lowest bid.

The project has been selected and prioritized under the Public Works Capital Improvement Program and budgeted in the sewer utility enterprise funds.

During the project, the contractor will keep all sewer mains functioning by using bypass pumping, according to staff, and traffic interruptions should be minimal since most of the mains are along alleyways and residential streets.

If the work will interrupt service, affected customers will be notified, according to staff.