Streets close as water, sewer lines upgraded
Improvements funded by $2.9 million bond fund
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff photo by Barry Halvorson Slicing into the roadway, Dennis Beard of Arrow Concrete Services of Houston prepares a portion of Burleson Street for a water and sewer line replacement.

The random street closures for infrastructure upgrades across the city will resume early next week with the closure of one lane of traffic on Burleson Street a block east of the restored Wharton County Courthouse.

Traffic was restricted for a portion of the morning Tuesday to allow for cuts to be made in the asphalt in anticipation of the roadway being dug up for a water and sewer line replacement running down the alley between Fulton and Rusk streets to accommodate, in part, the District Clerk Annex Building.

The work is the latest water and/ or sewer line improvement approved by the Wharton City Council as part of its October 2006 bond project, City Manager Andres Garza said in a phone interview. The council approved $2.965 million in certificates of obligation for a wide variety of projects.

A list provided by Garza included the purchase and renovation of the building for the new police station, the Santa Fe Drainage Ditch and a contribution toward the purchase of the new fire department pumper truck.

In addition to the ongoing infrastructure work, future projects funded by the bond proceeds will include a pair of Americans with Disabilities Act improvements - the downtown sidewalks and Wharton Fire Station - along with the construction of a the new terminal building at the Wharton Airport.

Tuesday night, the city hosted a meeting between downtown property and business owners to address potential issues regarding the sidewalk project.

"We want to try and avoid any problems by letting the owners know in advance what is planned and what the schedule of work will be during the project," Garza said. "Some locations are going to be more disrupted than others, but we want to try and accommodate people as much as possible."

Matula and Matula Construction from Lake Jackson is serving as the contractor for the utilities work, Garza said. Previously completed projects include installing a fire hydrant in the city's right of way along Olive Street and the replacement of a sewer line on Circle Drive. Included in the bid, although funded by the Wharton Economic Development Company, was the sewer line connection for the new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

"Most of the work is replacing of water and sewer lines that have been giving the city trouble," Garza said. "In particular are the old concrete sewer lines where the methane gas has degraded the concrete resulting in them collapsing. It causes problems with service and dumps a lot of extra dirt into the sewer system."