Crews also replace valves in problem areas
Staff writer
Those traveling down Eisenhower St. Thursday had to find an alternate route after the road was closed for most of the day.
Crews from Ewertz Excavation were running water lines that will serve the new Victory Plaza duplex addition from a hydrant on the west side of the street to tie into a waterline on the east side of the street.
Crews will replace a cut out section of the street with gravel and fix it with concrete this week. During that process, only half of the street at a time will be closed to allow traffic flow, city administrator Roger Holter said.
The project is being done this way to create a water loop along Victory Plaza, Holter said. This is a step the city is doing to help curb stagnant and yellow water problems around the city.
Most of the problem areas around town are dead-end lines, Holter said. Because water does not flow through those lines in a loop, it becomes trapped and sits in the lines causing the water to stagnate and turn yellow.
In an effort to begin the process of eliminating some dead-end lines, city crews have been replacing various valves throughout problem areas.
The valves will not decrease the stagnant water but will allow better water pressure into homes. They will also allow city crews to turn off water leading to dead-end lines to avoid turning off large portions of residents’ water while making dead-end lines into loops.
By having valves at those areas, it will also help the city better flush dead-end lines. It only takes crews a few hours to install the valves, if everything goes according to plan.
Valves have been replaced at Thorpe and Weldon Sts., Highland and Freeborn Sts., and Grant and Arbor Sts. Water was shut off Thursday afternoon between S. Lincoln St. and S. Cedar St from Main to Welch Sts., as crews replaced a valve. Valves at Lincoln and Weldon Sts. and Sherman and Locust Sts. will be replaced this week.
“The one crews were replacing Thursday was not working 100 percent and not giving the proper circulation through pipes,” Holter said.
After city utilities were finished last week at Victory Plaza, crews from Accel Construction of Wichita began hauling part of the 7,000 cubic yards of fill dirt needed to bring the area to proper drainage height.
Holter said the amount of time it takes crews to finish hauling and compacting the dirt will depend on the temperature.
“If it freezes and there is water in the dirt then it won’t compact properly,” Holter said.