Kellogg mayor's corner
Work on the City of Kellogg’s Sewer Rehabilitation and Replacement Project will begin soon. Contractors are now mobilizing crews and equipment for start-up of the 2018 construction season.
Knife River, the Phase II contractor for work north of 1-90 in the Sunnyside Addition will begin work on Monday April,16th. Crews will start on West Riverside Avenue where they ended last fall.
Work will begin with two full crews and support staff. A third crew will begin working on Mission Avenue where they left off in 2017, later this spring.
Knife River is starting on Riverside first to avoid having to cross the large storm drains located on Mission near Hill Street while they are running full with spring runoff.
The Phase Ill contractor, Big Sky Development, plans to begin work on April 30th. They will start along the Trail of the Coeur d’ Alene’s where they ended last fall. For both Phase II and Phase Ill work, residents living in active construction zones will be notified prior to work beginning.
As with the past two years, those living in or near active construction areas are being asked to prepare for what is coming.
Preplanning should include:
-Stocking up on groceries
-Arranging daycare ( child or adult)
-Filling prescriptions
-Scheduling needed medical appointments
-Planning alternative access routes to your home
-Locating a place to park you vehicles
-Locating and following road closures and detour routes
Construction near you will occur over a number of days so plan accordingly. Work will begin at 7:00 a.m. and depending what needs to be completed to allow crews to meet construction schedules, work may occur on Saturdays.
In addition to installing sewer and water lines, crews will be videotaping all service laterals on private property that connect homes to the cities collection system. All lateral lines found to be in poor condition and that are not water tight will have to be replaced at the homeowners expense.
Land owners will be notified in writing as to the condition of their service line. If replacement is required, owners will be given two years to complete the replacement project. Upon request, property owners can view the DVD of their service line.
As always, we want everyone to be safe. Obey road closure signs and drive carefully around and through construction zones. Allow extra time for normal commuting, watch out for heavy equipment moving through the area, operators may not be able to see you. Watch for pedestrians and especially young children and pets. Please drive slowly.
Parents are asked to remind their children to avoid active construction zones and to not play on material piles that are placed in or remain in construction areas.
Everyone needs to be constantly aware of heavy equipment and understand that operator’s of large equipment struggle with blind spots that make it difficult to see people, pets and traffic moving through the site.
I want to thank everyone for your past efforts in working with city staff and construction workers over the past two years. I am again asking for your understanding and patience as we move forward with our third and final year of large scale work. Any remaining work should be smaller in both scope and scale.
Anyone needing special assistance related to the project or who may have questions or concerns should contact Mr. Craig Lewis, Superintendent of Public Works at (208) 786-9131. On weekends, holidays or after work hours you may contact Mr. Lewis by calling the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (208) 556-1114 and ask that they contact him for you.
Mac Pooler,
Kellogg mayor