Work is underway on a sanitary sewer project in downtown Bartlesville, and a storm drain installation is anticipated to begin in the area in the coming weeks.
Both projects will facilitate the Tower Center at Unity Square project, a voter-approved community gathering space that will be constructed between the Bartlesville Community Center and Price Tower. Funding for the project, $1.75 million, was approved by voters in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election.
Both the sewer and storm drain projects will impact parking at the Community Center, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said recently.
The sewer line replacement project is underway, having started on Silas Street (also known as Sixth Street). Work is progressing south to Adams Boulevard, Lauritsen said.
“This project will impact approximately one-third of the parking lot, but access into and out of the lot from Adams and Silas and all other spaces will remain open,” he said.
Storm drain work in the area is set to begin during the last week of March or first part of April. Lauritsen said this project could have a larger impact on traffic in the area.
“Unfortunately, this could have a larger impact on the parking lot due to the location of the new pipe,” he said. “We will close off the center section of the parking — roughly 50 feet wide — while we work through this area.”
The storm water drainage improvements will start on Fifth Street and the alley, and will progress south to Adams Boulevard.
“The storm drain project will start in late March or early April, depending on material supply. So we won’t be working at the parking lot until early- to mid-May,” Lauritsen said. “It will take us at least four weeks to move through the parking lot. Like the waste-water project, we’ll backfill with gravel and open up parking as we progress to the south.”
Lauritsen said once both the sanitary sewer lines and storm drains are installed, crews will come back for the pavement repairs in the parking lot.
“This will have similar closures while the concrete and asphalt is installed,” he said, noting the pavement repairs will take approximately two to three weeks to complete.
“I anticipate the pavement repairs starting mid June,” he said.