SEQUIM — Customers and neighbors of the Sequim Post Office will see an impact of construction along Sunnyside Avenue starting Thursday, when the driveway will close for four days.
The driveway of the post office at 240 S. Sunnyside Ave., tentatively will reopen the morning of Monday, April 2, Sequim city staff said.
Post office customers can access the building from East Maple Street during the closure.
The closure follows the city of Sequim’s recent announcement that the new sewer main along Sunnyside Avenue is now in service. Crews continue to test a new water main along the same stretch that should be in service by next week, too.
Jordan Excavating of Port Angeles started construction last October before stopping late last year. Phase one connects the new water and sewer lines to new piping installed along South Sunnyside Avenue a few years ago and creates more water and sewer capacity for new development and incoming waste from the Carlsborg Sewer Project, city officials said.
The new sewer and water mains replace 70-year-old lines and increase piping to 18 inches and 8 inches in diameter.
Work resumed on Feb. 5, and now city staff anticipate the project to be complete by the end of April.
City staff said drivers can expect temporary lane closures and short delays lasting 15-30 minutes during construction.
“Underground utility work generally is the riskiest type of civil construction due to the potential to encounter unforeseen conditions that can impact a project’s schedule and cost,” said Matt Klontz, city engineer and assistant public works director.
He said crews encountered utilities near the Etta Street alley that had to be re-routed and connected to the new water and sewer mains at other nearby locations resulting in crews working in the daytime rather than at night as originally planned.
The project directly impacts more than 20 homes and a few businesses along north and south Sunnyside Avenue including the post office and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4760.
City staff said crews will continue to complete sidewalk and curb ramp improvements, paving restoration, and final paving from East Maple Street to East Fir Street along Sunnyside Avenue through the end of April.
Klontz previously said construction would cost about $1.155 million with a portion, about $514,000, financed from the Carlsborg Sewer Project through an interlocal agreement with Clallam County.
For more information, call the Sequim Public Works Department at 360-683-4908.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
