Aging sewer pipelines to be replaced

Four Sarasota bridges may become more difficult to cross in the months ahead.

The city of Sarasota Jan. 17 awarded a $2,059,080 construction project to InterCounty Engineering that involves sewer main and sewer pipeline replacements at the north Siesta Key bridge, Coon Key bridge, Bird Key bridge and Lido Key bridge. The contract includes a sewer force main replacement on Hillview Street.

The project has been designed to replace all of the city’s aging sewer pipelines running under local bodies of water and over the tops of bridges, to prevent the possibility of spills.

The following work will be performed:
• Siesta Key bridge — Replacement of approximately 1,400 linear feet of sewer lines, which are 18 feet in diameter, and 1,250 linear feet of a 16-foot-wide sewer force main.

• Bird Key bridge — Replacement of approximately 1,200 linear feet of 4-foot-wide and 8-foot-wide sewer force mains.

• Coon Key bridge — Replacement of approximately 1,400 linear feet of 18-foot-wide sewer lines and 1,250 linear feet of a 16-foot-wide sewer force main.

• Lido Key bridge — Replacement of approximately 5,100 linear feet of 8-foot-wide sewer force mains and 1,600 linear feet of 14-foot-wide sewer force mains.

The new pipes will be made of high-density polyethylene, which should ensure they last 50 years or longer, project engineers say.

The pipeline replacement will utilize a horizontal, directional-drill method, to minimize environmental impact and limit inconvenience to motorists. No road closures should be necessary, according to city staff.

Glenn Marzluf, general manager of the Utilities Division in the city’s Public Works Department, said the city most likely will start the work at the north Siesta Key bridge, at a cost of $224,000.

The city wants to complete that work before a Florida Department of Transportation bridge renovation project begins June 5. However, he said, no formal timetable has been established for the order in which the bridge projects will start.

Each project is expected to take about five weeks once it is under way, he added.

An FDOT engineering manager, however, has questioned why the city can’t wait until the Siesta bridge work is complete, in November, before it starts the sewer project in the same general area.

Marzluf said the work couldn’t be delayed, because the contract already had been assigned, and its terms expire at the end of November.

“This is just one part of a larger project that was planned in advance,” said Marzluf, who has agreed to push back the Siesta project back if it cannot be completed before FDOT begins its work.