14th Street to reopen in two weeks

Published 6:50 pm Saturday, August 25, 2012

A construction project that began in early July and blocked one of the city’s main streets will soon be wrapping up. Crews working on 14th Street NW from Oakland to Eighth avenues are targeting Sept. 7 as the day to reopen the street.

“We got a lot of work going on out there right now,” said City Engineer Jon Erichson. “We’re probably looking at a completion of that street the first week in September.”

Work on the water main is complete, he said, and the Public Works Department has moved on to the concrete and asphalt.

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The next few days will involve milling four inches off the surface and making adjustments to manholes.

The department is working on another significant construction project on Ninth Street NW between First and Eighth avenues. The street is completely closed to traffic. While it appears to be a typical residential street, Erichson said Ninth Street is an important area for Public Works.

“That’s the corridor of the utilities,” he said. “Right now we’re lining an 18-inch sanitary sewer.”

In order to ensure the stability of the sewer pipe, the department is reinforcing it with piping around the outside. The project will keep the original sewer pipe in good shape without requiring it to be replaced, he said.

The project should be finished around the end of September.