49th Street culvert repair contract awarded

In April, a culvert that conveys ditch water under 49th Street near the intersection with 35th Avenue suffered a catastrophic failure which also damaged the roadway. Repairs were not possible immediately after the failure occurred as doing so would have required suspending ditch water conveyance for several months, something impossible to do as residential, commercial and agricultural customers downstream rely on that water. It was decided to hold off on conducting repairs until after irrigation season ended and therefore 49th Street has been closed since April. 

Further complicating repairs was the discovery of several sensitive utilities, including high pressure gas lines and one of the city's forced wastewater mains, in the immediate vicinity of the ditch. The city used an emergency procurement to contract with Kimley Horn, a local engineering firm, to assist city engineers and public works professionals in developing a solution that would ensure the long-term viability of the culvert to convey the full decree of water rights, be built in a manner to accommodate future planned expansion of 49th Street, would incorporate a guardrail along the ditch crossing for the safety of motorists, and be able to be designed and built prior the beginning of irrigation season on March 15, 2026. 

The city solicited the project under these parameters following the guidelines set forth by our procurement policies and received 10 qualified bids by the deadline. After careful review and consideration, city staff recommended the low qualified bidder, Mountain Constructors, be selected for this project. The Evans City Council unanimously approved the contract with Mountain Constructors in a not to exceed amount of $524,100 at the regular meeting on Nov. 3.

Final design work is currently on-going and work will commence immediately afterwards. The contract with Mountain Constructors requires the work to be fully completed and the ditch and roadway opened on or before March 15, 2026. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.