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Show NSL Water Line Weeds Replacing By MARK D. MICKELSEN NORTH SALT LAKE Portions of an aging, underground water line along Highway 89 may soon have to be replaced to prevent further leakage problems prob-lems in the area, according to North Salt Lake City Manager Collin Wood. REPLACEMENT of the decaying line may mean some inconvenience for residents and businessmen, but only for a short time. Some property ow ners will have their driveways or approaches dug up, Mr. Wood said. He explained that leaks in the six-inch water line have created some settling along the highway and are causing the city to lose a lot of in-demand water. THE MOST critical area is located on the west side of Highway-89, south of Center Street and the Orchard Drive intersection. The existing line "has been particularly bad in the past," Mr. Wood said, noting that the city is still having problems with it. He said municipal officials w ill likely agree to bid out the replacement project in portions due to upcoming winter conditions. AS YET, thetity council has not arrived at a set figure for the renovation project, but deemed it their "number one priority" during summer budget hearings. hear-ings. Mr. Wood noted that engineers were draw ing up plans for the project before the city found any leaks in the line. HE SAID a final draft of the overall plan must be completed as soon as possible and said one is expected ex-pected within the next two weeks. The remaining portion of the replacement project will have to be done "next construction year," the city manager explained. REPLACEMENT plans call for the installation of a larger eight-inch pipe which w ill be installed west to the existing curb and gutter. The existing line is centered under the highway, w hich was recently resurfaced re-surfaced by the Utah State Dept. of Transportation. According to Mr. Wood, DOT representatives are not happy about the city's intent to dig up the road. The replacement pipe, however, if located west of the curb and gutter, w ill not interfere with the DOT's road system in the future, he said. WHEN CONSTRUCTION begins, he said several residents and property owners w ill have inaccessible driveways and approaches for a short time, but said the city has no plans to close off any nearby streets. "The only problem we're going to get into is a matter of inconvenience." "THERE'S GOING to be a whole hell of a lot of unknowns" about the project, he continued, explaining ex-plaining the reason why the city has not arrived at a set project cost estimate. He said other than replacement of the aging pipe, there is no added advantage to the new system. "THE PRESSURE will be about the same for those individual connections." He added that once the pipeline is replaced the city won't be tearing up the streets as frequently as in the past. HE SAID the existing pipe is too old and said there are too many possible leaks that must be corrected as soon as possible. |