Old utilities prompt projects in Randall Park area
Feb. 13—EAU CLAIRE — Replacing 135-year-old underground clay and iron utility pipes is spurring on roadwork in an older Eau Claire neighborhood.
Dave Solberg, engineering director and deputy city manager, cited water and sewer mains dating back to the late 19th century as the impetus for upcoming street projects in the Historic Randall Park neighborhood.
"These projects have among the oldest utilities in Eau Claire," he said during Monday night's City Council meeting.
Those very old utility lines on blocks of Broadway and Hudson streets are due for replacement as part of this year's schedule of roadwork. Buried pipes from the 1910s under parts of Chippewa Street and Seventh Avenue are prompting work there as well.
For the most part the roads will be rebuilt as they currently are, Solberg said, with the exception of narrow sections of Broadway Street that will be widened by a few feet to match other blocks.
Eleven upcoming road projects were subject to public hearings Monday night in front of the City Council. In addition to those in Historic Randall Park, others discussed are in the North Side Hill neighborhood and Eau Claire's Cannery District redevelopment area.
The North Side Hill, which is the neighborhood where Birch Street is its main thoroughfare, has four road projects coming this year. Sections of Omaha, Balcom, Spring and Ball streets are slated for work.
A trio of homeowners from that neighborhood attended Monday night's public hearing to hear more about what's planned for their street.
Mary Dolsch asked the city to give as much advance notice as possible before this year's road construction because it would impact her family's home business. Using part of their duplex as a short-term rental, Dolsch said road construction would impact dates they would list it for rent on websites including Airbnb and Vrbo.
"Timeline is very important for us this summer," Dolsch told the council.
Better advance communication of impending roadwork was also important to neighbor Scott Becker, who was surprised last year when construction began creeping up near his house.
"We kinda felt like we were on an island last year," he said.
The City Council is scheduled during its meeting this afternoon to vote on giving the go-ahead to road projects that got public hearings on Monday night. Should they get approved, Solberg said engineering documents would be drawn up and then the projects would be put out to bid in spring. That would mean construction would likely happen during summer.
The third volley of road construction projects discussed on Monday are in the city's Cannery District, a redevelopment area along the west bank of the Chippewa River.
That work includes replacing underground utilities and reconstructing portions of North Oxford and Maple streets in an area slated to be home to new apartments, businesses and a park.
With the bustle expected in the Cannery District, those streets will include on-street parking. Slightly raised crosswalks are planned to make it safer to cross at intersections.
Along with the road and utility work there, the city is also scheduled to begin construction of Cannery Park this year.
