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 2019 construction season. This will be the fourth and final year of the sewer project.

Knife River, the Phase II contractor for work north of I-90 in the Sunnyside Addition will begin on Monday, April 22, 2019. Crews will begin with sewer and waterline installation on Riverside Ave. East of Division Street and then on to east Cameron Ave. Work will also occur on west Cameron Ave. to replace a very deep manhole in front of Shoshone Medical Center. Following the completion of pipeline work, crews will turn their attention to paving those roadways that have been excavated. Paving will not occur until the weather has warmed sufficiently to get the best product possible.

Big Sky Development, the contractor for Phase III will begin work during the first part of May. They will continue their efforts in those areas where work ended in 2018. Primarily along Legion Ave, Railroad Ave, State St, The Trail of The Coeur d’Alene’s and uptown in the Ohio Ave, West Portland area.

In both areas the last of the pipe work is expected to take about a month. Once all of the pipe work has been completed, crews will prepare those areas that were excavated for paving.

McKinley Ave West of City Hall to Smelterville will also be rebuilt and repaved during this season, but the timing of that work has not been determined yet.

As with past 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 alternate access routes to your home

•Locating a place to park your vehicle

•Locating and following road closure and detour routes

Construction near you will occur over a number of days so plan accordingly. Work will begin at 7:00 am and depending on what needs to be done to meet work schedules, work may occur on Saturdays.

In addition to installing sewer and waterlines, crews will be videotaping all private service laterals that connect homes and businesses to the cities collection system. All lateral lines found to be in poor condition and not water tight will have to be replaced at the property owners’ expense.

Once all these inspection results are collected and organized, land owners will be notified in writing of any problems. If repair, or replacement, is required owners will be given two years to bring those lines into compliance.

Upon request, home owners can make an appointment to meet with city staff to view the CCTV video 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 commuting and watch out for heavy equipment moving through the area, operators may not be able to see you. Watch out for pedestrians, 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 or remain in construction areas. Everyone needs to be constantly aware of heavy equipment and understand that operators 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 as our project has proceeded. I am again asking for your understanding and patience as we move forward to complete the project.

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 at (208) 556-1114 and ask that they contact him for you.