Bid approved for Somers reconstruction project

A bid for work on the reconstruction of Somers Avenue came in about $540,000 under the amount budgeted for the project.

City Council on April 2 approved a bid of $1.65 million with Sandry Construction of Bigfork for the project. The city had budgeted $2.2 million for the project and an engineering estimate of the total project cost was $1.9 million.

“We’re under the engineering estimate and about 10 percent under the total project budget,” Public Works Director Craig Workman noted.

The project includes the reconstruction of the six-block stretch of Somers Avenue between East Second Street and East Eighth Street. The roadway is on the resort tax priority list.

Work is expected to begin in May for the portion of the road between East Seventh and East Eighth Street.

Somers Avenue, in the six-block section, will be closed during construction from June 11 to Aug. 18.

The reconstructed street will remain much as it is now in terms of alignment, however, some changes in grade to the road will be made to improve drainage. The profile includes a 30-foot roadway — 26 feet of pavement with 4 feet of curb and gutter — to accommodate parking on both sides of the road.

The project will also include a sump pump collection system. A number of properties on the street have had their sump pumps illegally connected to the city sanitary sewer system, according to the city, and following work homeowners will be able to connect and discharge sump water to the roadway storm drainage system.

The work will not include replacement of the sidewalk, which the city determined to be in good shape.

The city is also upgrading the corridor to include decorative lighting equipped with LED lights.

A detailed tree inventory of the Somers boulevard also resulted in the recommended removal of about 40 mature green ash trees. The trees will be replaced as part of the project.