Traffic slows for pipe project

Travel along Foothill Boulevard, between Ralphs and Office Depot – Raymond and Ramsdell avenues – could get a little tricky from Sept. 24 through the beginning of February of next year.

Traffic slowdowns are expected, as plans to replace deteriorating and funky-channeled water piping are sped up by a few years due to the needs of La Crescenta’s library remodel project, said Julian Lee, associate engineer for Crescenta Valley Water District.

The district decided to speed up the timeline on the water pipe replacement project after Grace Andrus, president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, spoke with water district representatives about the needs of the library and another property north of Foothill, in which a property owner is being kept in limbo and can’t develop or use her commercial land, due to a the lack of water pressure and improper piping, Andrus said.

“This really is a necessity that [the water district] adjust the schedule for the benefit of the community,” she said.

The just over a half-million dollar water pipe replacement construction project involves removing and replacing piping along the North side of Foothill and re-channeling pipes that currently go across the roadway to service North side businesses, from the South side piping. The current 2- and 4-inch pipes are old, leaking, and aren’t adequate for fire flow needs of the library, Lee said.

The project was awarded to MNR Construction, of San Dimas, after it was determined to be the lowest, responsible bid for the project, said Lee, who originally estimated the project would cost the city about $495,000. The accepted bid was $517,619.

The project is needed primarily to accommodate the library project, Lee said, adding that normally a residential or commercial developer would be required to pay for pipe removal necessitated for such a project – however, the city will foot the bill this time. That’s because the project was already planned for within the next five years, and would be necessary even without the library’s (or the commercial property owner’s) needs, Lee said.

The work along Foothill Boulevard is expected to be slower than some other street projects, primarily because of the high level of traffic along Foothill Boulevard. “We need to be more cautious for safety reasons,” Lee said, adding that a county issued permit also will make the project slower, since work can only be done from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., instead of the district’s normal 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. work schedule.

The fact that the work is being done so close to Crescenta Valley High School also necessitates the 3:30 p.m. quitting time, Lee said. “That’s about when school gets out and traffic along there gets packed. We want to do this with as minimal of impact as possible.”