Widespread street excavations would carry into 2021
By Seth Schmidt
The City of Tracy took another step down a path that could lead to $20 million of sanitary sewer, water, storm sewer, and street replacement construction over the next several years.
A public hearing regarding the $20 million plan was held at Tracy City Hall Monday, with consulting engineer Chris Larson of the I&S Group giving an overview of the project.
The City had first planned on $6 million project for 2019, with construction primarily on Third St., between Hwy. 14 and South St., and an additional block both west and east. But on the recommendation of I&S, the council this spring agreed to consider an expanded $20 million project, because extra money might be available from the federal Rural Development Agency during the current funding cycle.
“We are thinking that there will be four construction contracts over three to four years,” said Larson. Any Rural Development funding that Tracy obtains would need to be spent by August of 2021.
Benefits of the proposed infrastructure improvements include increased system capacity, reduced maintenance expenses from the replacement of aging pipes, and reducing sources of drainage water entering the sanitary sewer. Inflows of storm water into the sanitary sewer system, have been a major cause of sewage backups during peak flow periods for city residents.
The construction of new sewage treatment lagoons, which will replace the city’s under-sized and leaking ponds, is underway northeast of the city airport.
For more on this article, see this week’s Headlight-Herald.