The third and final construction
phase of the Mandan remedial system installation is about to begin it was
reported to Mandan and Morton County commissions on Tuesday.
Tim Kenyon, of Leggette, Brashears and Graham Inc., the company in charge of the
diesel fuel contamination cleanup, is in Mandan this week providing updates for
local leaders on the project. On Wednesday a preconstruction meeting was held
with contractors.
The first phase of construction involved the area south of Main Street and north
of the railroad tracks in Mandan’s downtown area. Last year phase two, an area
between Main Street and First Street was started and is about to go online.
The excavation contractor, Earthmovers Inc., is mobilizing equipment and crews
this week, Kenyon reported, with work to begin fairly soon to complete wells and
connect them to the collection system. As excavation is completed, Northern
Improvement follows along to restore the infrastructure. The contract calls for
excavation to be done by Aug. 31 and restoration completed by Sept. 15.
Current weather conditions haven’t been conducive to an early start on
excavation and contractors need to determine how much frost remains in the
ground.
“They’re not sure how much frost there is and it’s really tough to dig
through,” Kenyon said. “How much frost remains will have an impact on when
they start and they’ll start when conditions allow.”
The third phase has been divided into seven zones, six of which are north of
First Street and the last where the former Ratz Bar and other buildings are
under demolition on Main Street. The first zone, where excavation work will
begin is the area from Collins Avenue west to First Avenue NW — this will
mainly encompass the area adjacent Library Square and the old post
office-library. The work will continue toward the west throughout the summer
until moving back to Main Street.
Work is being completed on the collection buildings located at the fire station
and former bus building site. Expectations are that the system will be turned on
shortly.
To date the system has collected 23,390 gallons of biodegradation, 6,587 gallons
of diesel fuel, 8,832 gallons of co-mingled solvents and 45,239 pounds of
methane.
Kenyon noted that there hasn’t been much of increase in collections of methane
for a while because most of it has been drawn out from the area south of Main
Street. Once the second phase is online there will be a substantial increase in
numbers.
The process is attempting to deal with an emulsion problem that LBG has not come
across before in similar diesel fuel remediation processes, according to Kenyon.
This isn’t expected to be something that can’t be dealt with.
“We will be having weekly progress reports and you can expect a lot of parking
disruptions. We’ll be doing everything we can to get in and out as quickly as
possible,” Kenyon said. “There will be some reconstruction and we’ll be
installing some water main and doing some curb to curb reconstruction.”
City Commissioner Tim Helbling pointed out that reconstruction of Collins Avenue
will be going on at the same time. Kenyon doesn’t expect there will be any
substantial issues regarding the two projects.
Once the contruction is complete the entire system is expected to go into
operation later in the fall. LBG estimates it will run three to five years
before the cleanup is complete.
(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 701-250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)
