The Lone Star Drive Wastewater Improvement project will involve construction work along Lone Star Drive and Marquis Lane.[/caption]Cedar Park is set to break ground on a wastewater improvement project this summer.
“We’re excited any time we get to come and improve a sewer line,” said Michael Huber, Cedar Park senior utility engineer. “Ultimately the goal is to be able for people to turn on their water, flush their toilet and not have to ever worry about it.”
Cedar Park officials and representatives from Smith Contracting hosted a meeting Monday evening to answer citizen questions about the Lone Star Drive Wastewater Improvement project. Huber said the project was identified as a priority after the city did a wastewater plan master update in 2014, as it is nearing capacity to adequately move sewage.
“Based on the modeling, this is one of the lines that had never been replaced,” Huber said. “We had some sizing issues and so decided to move forward with this as a priority project.”
The construction will replace the 12-inch diameter pipelines with 15-inch diameter lines along the edge of Lone Star Drive and Marquis Lane to Cedar Park Drive. Traffic on Lone Star and Marquis will be reduced to one lane during a portion of this project, and flaggers will be present.
To address concerns about the construction impacting the right-of-way in front of people’s homes, Huber said the city will work to make the process as “painless as possible” for homeowners.
“My motto with projects has always been to leave it better than what we found it, so that includes making sure that we take care of the plants, make sure we get the same kind of sod in place,” he said. “With driveways that are disturbed, we replace the driveway all the way from the street to the property line.”
Construction is expected to start in the summer and be completed by spring 2018. Huber said the city has worked with Smith Contracting in the past, such as the latest project at Cypress Creek Road and Lakeline Boulevard.
Huber said while the project is not divided into phases, it will be done in sections as the crews make their way up the street.
“You build a portion of it, you check that, test it, patch that section and then continue marching up the roadway, because what you don’t want to do is have a giant trench all the way down the road,” Huber said.
Funds for the project, which is estimated to cost $2.3 million, were approved as part of the fiscal year 2017 Utility Capital Project Fund.
There will be future public meetings about the project, but times and dates are not set yet. People with questions can email the city at [email protected].
