Tooele City officials want to replace the water main underneath Main Street before the state starts its $25.5 million rebuild project of the roadway this summer.
And they plan to use funds made available from the project to help pay for the new pipeline.
Called SR-36 Renewed, the Utah Department of Transportation project will completely reconstruct Main Street and the underlying storm drain system from 3 O’clock Drive to 1280 North in Tooele. It also includes resurfacing SR-36 from 1280 North to 2000 North.
The 4.3 mile-long project, which UDOT expects to kick off in June, will remove as much as 22 inches of pavement in some places, endangering an old water main buried beneath Main Street, Tooele City Engineer Paul Hansen told the city council last week.
Because the work on SR-36 Renewed would require UDOT to temporarily remove and reroute sections of the water main, Hansen said UDOT planned to compensate the city about $325,000.
Though UDOT could work around the water main issue during the Main Street reconstruction, Hansen said it would save money in the long run, and prevent potential leaks and other problems, if the city replaced the water main before UDOT breaks ground on SR-36 Renewed.
“This water line is old, in the sense that many portions are 50 years plus in age,” he said. “Our concern is that by taking that much cover off the top of the pipe, with all the movement and vibration of the work, that even though it doesn’t expose the pipe, the joints would become loose and brittle and as soon as they pave it, we’re going to have leaky pipes — and we’ll be cutting up a brand new road.”
Hansen said his department plans to replace the old line from the south end of town near Settlement Canyon up to 550 North — a total of 9,000 feet of pipe. He estimated the cost of the project near $2 million. A portion of the funds for the project will come from UDOT; the rest will be taken out of the city’s water revenue fund.
The city has already made a request for bids on the project, Hansen said, and they hope to see responses this week. He said he would like to see construction on the water main start in mid-March to allow the city enough time to complete the project before UDOT begins work on SR-36 Renewed.