The Mukilteo Speedway at Paine Field Boulevard is expected to be closed in both directions intermittently during daylight hours through Tuesday for the repair of a major sewer line.
Closures of the road are planned for two to three minutes every half-hour while equipment and materials are moved in and out of the work area, most of which is in the large vacant lot on the west side of the intersection.
KLB Construction of Mukilteo was hired by the Olympus Terrace Sewer District to work on the pipeline. A section of the line, which carries sewage from the northern two-thirds of Mukilteo down Big Gulch to a treatment plant on Possession Sound, was exposed by heavy rain in November.
Big Gulch Creek is rushing over the newly exposed section, and the line is in danger of rupturing, sewer district manager Pat Sorensen said.
If the line breaks, raw sewage and other pollutants could be released into Big Gulch Creek and Possession Sound. The sewer district’s board of commissioners voted to declare an emergency so a company could be hired to do the repair without delays for the usual bidding process.
A 600-foot bypass will be built around the section, Sorensen said. Payment for the repairs will be based on time and materials and is expected to cost $300,000 to $400,000, he said.
A helicopter is being used to airlift new pipeline sections and other materials into the steep, narrow portion of the gulch where the exposed section is located.
The 35-year-old concrete sewer line was originally buried 8 to 10 feet deep its entire length, Sorensen said. Other parts of the pipeline have been exposed in recent years.
The district has proposed replacing the line and building a storm-water bypass line to reduce erosion in the gulch. Both projects are estimated to cost $13.5 million.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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