Q: There has been construction going on in the 2400 to 2600 block of W. Marine View Drive in Everett.

The contractor was attempting to bore a hole for a pipe under W. Marine View Drive. I was told that the boring machine struck a large granite boulder and is stuck under the street.

To facilitate the boring operation a large hole was dug at the northeast corner of 26th Street and W. Marine View Drive. The construction company closed 26th Street to entry. No work has occurred at the site for several weeks.

There is no need for 26th Street to be closed to enter from W. Marine View Drive as the hole is on the other side of the street. Those of us residing in that area are forced to go to the traffic signal at Everett Avenue and W. Marine View Drive to get home. I have contacted the Everett traffic department and the mayor’s office regarding the situation. No results.

Ronald Cummins, Everett

A: Everett senior engineer Jim Ozanne said the construction project causing the traffic disruption at 26th Street and W. Marine View Drive is a joint project between the city and Kimberly-Clark to construct a deep-water conveyance and sewage outfall line.

"The project will allow Kimberly-Clark to reuse about eight million gallons of the city’s treated waste water for cooling, thereby reducing their use of raw water from the Sultan River while improving the water quality in both the lower Snohomish River and Port Gardner Bay," Ozanne said. "The project is currently scheduled to be completed this spring."

The work at 26th Street and W. Marine View Drive is a boring project to place a large diameter casing 10 to 20 feet under W. Marine View Drive and the parallel railroad tracks.

"The boring operation was stopped because of a large granite boulder that was hit by the boring machine," Ozanne said. "After a lot of additional effort by the contractor, this obstacle has been overcome and a new boring pit has been constructed between the railroad and W. Marine View Drive."

Work on 26th Street may be completed in the next two weeks.

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