Watertown Council Approves $44,820 Increase for 4th Street West, Highland Boulevard Reconstruction

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council voted unanimously Nov. 2 to approve a final change order for the 4th Street West and Highland Boulevard reconstruction project (Project No. 2604) with Halme Inc., increasing the contract by $44,820 for a revised total contract price of approximately $293,000.

Sub-Base Stabilization and Final Quantities

City Engineer Justin Petersen told the council the final change order adjusts for actual construction quantities installed during the project. The primary driver of the approximately $45,000 ($44,820) increase stemmed from poor, spongy sub-base conditions uncovered once crews removed the existing roadway surface.

To stabilize the roadbed before rebuilding the street, crews added a cement-treated base material.

Responding to a question from Heuer on whether the unstable subgrade resulted from years of standing water and moisture in that neighborhood, Petersen confirmed that moisture was a major factor.

"There's a lot of, like you said, standing water there and it was crazy how much movement underneath—some of the worst I've seen, I think," Petersen said.

Drainage Improvements and WMU Coordination

Heuer also asked whether the reconstruction addressed longstanding surface drainage challenges in the area. Petersen noted that the city coordinated the street reconstruction alongside underground utility work completed by Watertown Municipal Utilities (WMU) to improve drainage along the corridor.

City Manager Alan Stager added that a primary goal of the project was restoring proper street water conveyance by installing full curb and gutter. Previous asphalt overlays over the years had diminished the curb profile to the point where stormwater was no longer staying in the street and was instead flowing through residential backyards.

Stager reported that he checked in with a neighborhood resident following recent rain on Nov. 2 and confirmed the reconstructed street kept water out of residential yards. He noted that because the project stopped one block short of Highland Park, some downstream ponding still occurs at the intersection, which would require a larger future project to fully resolve.