The City is behind in completing its Clear Creek Culvert Reconstruction project. The project aims to mitigate flooding and improve storm drainage downtown. Initially scheduled to be complete by October, the project now may last until the end of the year.
Holly McLauchlin, communications manager for the utilities department, said the delay is due to acquiring permits to use limestone for the veneer. The veneer will cover the culvert pipe opening that goes under the bridge right next to Franklin Hall and Dunn Meadow. The budget was increased from $3.6 million to $3.9 million to account for the historical permit.
“This is the only part of the hidden river project that has historical significance designation,” she said. “That was not something that we anticipated in our original project, and getting the additional requirements to meet the historical designation, adding those into the project, rebidding them, getting contractors to do that work delayed the project a couple of weeks.”
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Indiana Avenue has been partially closed since earlier this year, McLauchlin said. It was supposed to fully reopen by the time classes started, and now both lanes won’t reopen until the end of October. After that, sanitary sewer work will be completed.
The City has been working on this project since 1999 and is in the final stage. The original culvert dates back to 1900, McLauchlin said.
“Storm water, we don't want that to flood our city; we want to channel that in a controlled way,” she said. “So that's what the culvert aims to do, is take the storm water that's draining into campus river, direct it underneath downtown, and then have it come out at Clear Creek.”
Read more: City Says Hidden River Pathway Project Will Help Alleviate Flooding Issues Downtown
The City reopened the Von Lee parking lot a couple of weeks ago after inserting a portion of the culvert underneath. All those parking spots have been converted to EMS spots to account for the Sixth and Dunn lot closure. The lot closed Aug. 9 to provide space to store materials for the former Poplar building site construction project, which is expected to last two years.