Board authorizes valve-box replacements and tap abandonments along Medical Center Parkway

The Water Resources Board approved a plan to abandon select service taps and replace valve boxes along the Phase 2 work on Medical Center Parkway, a corridor being narrowed with median reconfiguration.

Staff (Speaker 8) said the project stretch contains a repurified 12-inch and a 24-inch water main with about 13 gate valves and 38 service taps and meters. Some meter taps will end up in the traveled roadway as medians narrow; the city intends to keep one water meter per median (six medians) and abandon the other connections to avoid running service lines beneath the roadway.

Rollins Excavating quoted $3,000 per tap excavation and $3,500 per valve-box replacement; staff reported the valve-box subtotal at about $141,000 (digging to 10-foot depth) and recommended adding a 20% contingency to account for some valves that may be as deep as 15 feet, bringing the presented total to about $170,000. Staff said funding would come from Capital Reserve. The board discussed irrigation use, median configuration and future roadway impacts and approved the authorization by voice vote.

Staff will coordinate scheduling so maintenance crews can abandon the connections at the mains after excavation by the contractor and will return with contract documents and a construction schedule.