Looking north on Washington Street from 12th Avenue on Friday evening, May 17, 2024. The street will be resurfaced.
Sections of two main traffic routes in Albany, Washington Street and Queen Avenue, are due to be repaved starting this summer at a construction cost totaling about $7.5 million.
The city council will be asked on Wednesday, May 22, to award construction contracts to the low bidders for each of the two projects.
On Washington Street, the project calls for a “two-inch asphalt grind and inlay overlay” from First Avenue to Pacific Boulevard, a distance of 12 and a half blocks. Storm drains, sidewalks, and curb ramps will be repaired. Deteriorated water lines on Washington, Calapooia and Ferry streets will be replaced.
Pacific Excavation, of Eugene, was the low bidder at $3,504,650. There were five other bidders.
The work on Washington and surrounding streets must be finished by Aug. 29, 2025.
On Queen Avenue, the city wants to have the section from Pacific Boulevard to Marion Street repaved. That’s about 2,700 linear feet. Like on Washington, the project includes storm drains, curb ramps and sidewalk repairs, along with the replacement of a water line and repairs on a sewer main.
North Santiam Paving Co., of Stayton, was the low bidder at 4,054,374. Three other companies also submitted bids. The work must be completed by this Nov. 1.
On both projects, the low bids were substantially below the engineer’s estimates.
If memory serves, city officials once hoped that long-planned safety improvements at the Queen Avenue rail crossing would be done at the same time as the city paving project on that section. But the latest estimate from ODOT is that the safety project won’t be done until 2026.
ODOT says it intends “to install advanced warning devices to warn approaching traffic that the crossing is in use and trains are present” and to “make safety improvements to change how vehicle, bicycle and pedestrians use and move through the rail crossing area.”
But that’s still a while off. In the meantime, prepare for detours to get around construction on Washington and Queen for the next few months. (hh)
If only all the streets in Albany could lead the way to Monteith, how our streets would be paved in gold…
You have come up with it!! Of course, Washington Street gets redone because it leads to Monteith Park….the biggest of all CARA boondoggles!! Thanks for your keen insight, Rachel.
Hasso thinks the city will re-do Washington Street in stages. I hope he is right. A person has to cross Washington Street to get to the Post Office whether they are approaching it from the east, west, north or south. That is because the city, in their “infinite wisdom” (Ha!), put in those two, stupid, short, one-way streets on each side of the Post Office. One is headed west in front of the Carousel Building and the next one is the cross street the other side of the Post Office headed one-way east with that crazy back-in, diagonal parking.
So, without Washington Street, you cannot get into the Port Office parking lot or get out of it!!