This looks like one of the six places where undergrounding electric service requires boring under the Water Avenue railroad track.
This is the year the west end of Albany’s Water Avenue will get an overhaul, and I was wondering when this work will resume, and why it didn’t start during January when it was sunny and dry.
As reported previously, changes on Water Avenue between Washington Street and the Lyon Street Bridge are the last element of the Albany Revitalization Agency’s $21.5 million Waterfront Project.
The improvements, including new pavement and various amenities, required Pacific Power to put the electrical system along about four blocks under ground.
The utility work started last fall but isn’t finished. I asked Adam Kohler, Pacific Power’s local business manager, for an update.
“Our contractor ran into an issue with the placement of the final conduit runs underneath the railroad tracks on Water Avenue as the railroad has been non-responsive to our communication efforts for many months. Coordination with the railroad is necessary in order to have certified flaggers present who will assist in ensuring the work is conducted safely. This delay ran into the holidays, and so the contractor had to move on to another project outside of the area… Thanks to the assistance of city staff, we have landed on a path forward, and it is anticipated that the contractors will resume the boring operation in the next few weeks.”
There are six places where boring under the tracks is necessary, Kohler explained, either to serve meters on the other side or for reasons of system reliability.
Once the underground work is done, he said, new cables and connections can be installed. Then the poles and overhead wiring will be taken down.
To pay for the undergrounding, surcharges on Pacific Power bills within the city of Albany won’t appear until the undergrounding work is complete and the costs are known and approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
I also checked with City Engineer Staci Belcastro, who has been overseeing the Waterfront Project. She said Pacific Power’s undergrounding contractor will get back on the site next week and K&E Excavating, the city’s Waterfront Project contractor, will start on the street in March.
All the changes on Water, including a new access from the street across the track to the Dave Clark Riverfront Path, should be completed some time this summer. (hh)
When Water Avenue work will resume
This looks like one of the six places where undergrounding electric service requires boring under the Water Avenue railroad track.
This is the year the west end of Albany’s Water Avenue will get an overhaul, and I was wondering when this work will resume, and why it didn’t start during January when it was sunny and dry.
As reported previously, changes on Water Avenue between Washington Street and the Lyon Street Bridge are the last element of the Albany Revitalization Agency’s $21.5 million Waterfront Project.
The improvements, including new pavement and various amenities, required Pacific Power to put the electrical system along about four blocks under ground.
The utility work started last fall but isn’t finished. I asked Adam Kohler, Pacific Power’s local business manager, for an update.
“Our contractor ran into an issue with the placement of the final conduit runs underneath the railroad tracks on Water Avenue as the railroad has been non-responsive to our communication efforts for many months. Coordination with the railroad is necessary in order to have certified flaggers present who will assist in ensuring the work is conducted safely. This delay ran into the holidays, and so the contractor had to move on to another project outside of the area… Thanks to the assistance of city staff, we have landed on a path forward, and it is anticipated that the contractors will resume the boring operation in the next few weeks.”
There are six places where boring under the tracks is necessary, Kohler explained, either to serve meters on the other side or for reasons of system reliability.
Once the underground work is done, he said, new cables and connections can be installed. Then the poles and overhead wiring will be taken down.
To pay for the undergrounding, surcharges on Pacific Power bills within the city of Albany won’t appear until the undergrounding work is complete and the costs are known and approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
I also checked with City Engineer Staci Belcastro, who has been overseeing the Waterfront Project. She said Pacific Power’s undergrounding contractor will get back on the site next week and K&E Excavating, the city’s Waterfront Project contractor, will start on the street in March.
All the changes on Water, including a new access from the street across the track to the Dave Clark Riverfront Path, should be completed some time this summer. (hh)
Tags: Albany Revitalization Agency, Pacific Powett, Portland & Western, underground utilities, Waterfront Project