St John board hears updates on Heartland Park 12-inch main and Wall Street water-main relocation

Glenn Peterson, project manager with SEH, told the St John Board of Waterworks the Heartland Park project will include installing a 12-inch transmission main to close a gap between the Silver Leaf subdivision and White Oak Avenue, improving water service on the town’s west end.

"It is a 12-in main so it is part of the transmission line," Peterson said, describing a run of about 2,500 ft that SEH plans to install partly by open cut and partly by directional drilling to cross a wetland and to drill under White Oak Avenue to avoid a road cut.

Peterson said Core Construction is the construction manager and Reichel Plumbing is the underground contractor for the work. He said the town will be covering the water-main portion of the project and that the installation is being coordinated with a planned White Oak/109th roundabout to avoid later relocations.

Gabe Hernandez briefed the board on a separate Wall Street water-main item, saying the developer will begin work shortly and the town plans to move the Wall Street main into an easement "so we don't have to get a InDOT permit." Hernandez estimated the relocation is roughly 800 ft from Wall Street to the tracks and discussed procurement options, including use of a JICA program and a non-bid clause to accelerate work during the town’s schedule crunch.

SEH gave a preliminary cost figure for the Heartland Park run at "in the $172,000 range" to install the roughly 2,500 ft of pipe, but Peterson said he could not confirm whether that estimate included sanitary components and asked the board to expect a formal bill when the work is ready for payment.

The board did not take formal action on either project at the meeting; SEH and the board agreed to bring cost and contract details forward when available.

What’s next: SEH and town staff will present final cost allocations and any contract or procurement recommendations to the board for approval in a future meeting.