'Frozen Third' was first to get new water mains

The north end of New Rockford has been rife with activity the past two weeks. Crews from BEK Consulting of Dickinson began installing new water main on Third Avenue North Sept. 6.

"Third (Avenue) actually went good," Wayne Kern of BEK Consulting commented during a construction meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 25. It was the second of many meetings in which representatives from the city, engineering firm, contractors and USDA-Rural Development will discuss progress, problems and plans as the project continues.

Kern was referring to the fact that they had completed the installation of the new water mains on Third Avenue North and had shifted their attention to Second Avenue North this past week. On average, they were able to complete 250 feet per day and had finished seven blocks in two weeks' time.

What's left now on Third Avenue North is some compaction, particularly on the east end, followed by repair of the concrete curb and gutter and asphalt street where the new line was dug. Kern said completion of the concrete and paving work is dependent upon weather, but that they fully intended to get the repair done yet this fall.

Five blocks on Second Avenue North will round out the digging this season, Kern said. It is problematic to do more considering that the temporary water lines are at risk when the temperatures fall below freezing.

Rather than dig into another street, the plan is to install water mains on Seventh Street and Eighth Street downtown using horizontal drilling. Carstensen Contracting of Dell Rapids, S.D. will perform the work. As Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering explained, this method will allow contractors to install the new water main without needing to provide temporary water service to the downtown businesses. They will instead drill straight down to the desired depth and then straight across underneath the street using a special machine. Thousands of gallons of water-based drilling fluid are then forced through, enlarging the hole to the desired width. Finally the water main is fed through the hole, leaving only the two ends.

The new line will be installed without disturbing the existing main. Once the new line is in place, they will connect the service lines to the new main. A short planned outage will facilitate the switch, so downtown businesses will not be affected for long.

Kern estimated that work in the downtown area would begin within the next week or two, again dependent on weather conditions. Brad Carstensen of Carstensen Contracting said he plans to bring one crew with a 23x30 drilling machine by the middle of this week, and estimated that the 5,000 feet of pipe would take two to three weeks to install. In a few areas they will use a larger, 60x90 drilling machine. They are also affected by weather, as the drilling fluid is subject to freezing. Therefore, their equipment will need to be drained each evening or stored indoors. He asked for space to store a 30 foot trailer, and indicated that the rest of their equipment would be drained at the end of each work day when frost is expected.

The next construction meeting is set for Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m.