Council Approves $30,720 Change Order for 5th Avenue North Reconstruction

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council on Monday unanimously approved Change Order No. 2 for the Neighborhood Street Reconstruct – 5th Avenue North Project (No. 2503), adding $30,720.75 to the contract with Site Works Inc. and bringing the new total project cost to $3,051,214.85.

City Manager Alan Stager submitted the item, which appeared under Contracts & Change Orders on the July 6 agenda.

Utility Work Completed; Soft Spots Found

City Engineer Justin Petersen told the council that most underground utility work on 5th Avenue North is now finished, and the change order reflects final quantity adjustments for sanitary sewer and storm sewer work.

According to the attached change order, “Most of this change order is due to encountering ground water and needing stable material for pipe installation and soft areas in the grade.”

Petersen said crews ran into unexpected soft soils near Broadway.

“There’s kind of a low spot right about Broadway-ish… water tends to collect there for whatever reason,” Petersen said.

City and WMU Shares Updated

The change order adjusts both the City of Watertown’s portion of the project and the Watertown Municipal Utilities (WMU) portion.

From the agenda document:

·         City share: $2,549,172.61 (Base Bid A–G, Change Orders 1 & 2, and 87% of mobilization)

·         WMU share: $502,042.24 (Base Bid H, Change Orders 1H & 2H, and 13% of mobilization)

The combined contract now totals $3,051,214.85.

Council Discussion

Councilman Heuer asked where the soft spots were located, noting that 5th Avenue sits relatively high in the community. Petersen explained the issue was isolated to a low point near Broadway where groundwater tends to accumulate.

No other concerns were raised.

The motion to approve the change order was made by Councilman Allen and seconded by Councilman Peters. The vote was unanimous:

Project Background

The 5th Avenue North reconstruction spans from 4th Street NW to Highway 81, including street, drainage, and utility upgrades such as sanitary mains, storm sewer, water mains, curb and gutter, sidewalks, subgrade preparation, and asphalt paving.

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