As temperatures fall, construction season nears completion

A busy construction season for the City of Libby is nearing an end as winter weather approaches. City Administrator Jim Hammons said he expects current water main and road construction projects on Fourth Street and Sixth Street to be completed by Oct. 24. A water main replacement in an alley between Minnesota Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue and the installation of a few new water meters are all that remain on the city construction agenda. Those projects will be completed in early November.

“It was a pretty big construction season,” Hammons said. “We did 29 blocks of paving this year. Noble Excavating was our contractor on the water main replacements.”

City construction costs were approximately $270,000 this year, about $30,000 under budget. Hammons said the city’s water mains continue to be a nuisance. He estimates the system is between 60-80 years old. Leaks are nothing new — workers found three previously undetected leaks when digging up Fourth Street. Hammons said loose water leaking underground is part of the reason the city’s roads are so beat up.

“We got additional grant money for water pipes this year,” Hammons said. “It’s a good thing because we like to redo the water mains when the roads get fixed.”

Another reason for all the cracked roads lies below the surface. Many local roads sit on clay foundations, which makes Hammons scratch his head. He is not sure what workers were thinking, but water gets into the clay and softens the foundation.

Current protocol calls for filtration fabric and quality rock to be laid below the pavement. Roads are typically made two-, three- or four-inches thick. Hammons said Fourth Street and Sixth Street will get three-inch thick pavement.

“That should be really good for roads that do not get the kind of heavy traffic other areas see,” Hammons said.

While the weather is turning, Hammons said it is not out of the question to perform construction during the winter. Fresh pavement is laid at such a high temperature that cold conditions are no issue. As long as the work area remains dry, Hammons said workers could pave a road surrounded by snow.