Weather slows public work projects
Inclement weather that has swept through the area over the past several days has slowed work on two ongoing city projects, but both projects are still on track for completion over the next few weeks.
Robert Edmonds, director of public works, provided Wednesday updates on a major drainage improvement project that has shut down 10th Street between West and Washington Avenues for the past several months and the construction of a new city dog pound in the area South West Avenue/Southfield Road and U.S. 82.
Winter storms coated the area in ice and snow last week, while heavy rains soaked the city this week.
However, Edmonds said crews on both projects have been able to get some work done within the past couple of weeks, adding that with a few days of dry weather, both jobs could be completed well before spring.
Both projects are being funded by the El Dorado Works tax initiative — a one-cent city sales tax that is dedicated to economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects — at $1.2 million for the drainage project and $594,341 for the dog pound.
Diversified Construction and Design is the contractor for both jobs.
The new dog pound is being built on two acres of land that the city is leasing from LANXESS for a nominal fee.
The facility includes an enclosed cinder block building and a metal canopy; an HVAC system; a trough system that will allow for easy and sanitary disposal of waste; LED lighting; and approximately 40 dog pens, six more than the number of pens in the existing pound on the grounds of the City Shop on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The new facility will replace the old, dilapidated pound.
Edmonds and city officials have said there is enough space at the new site to accommodate future expansion, including the addition of more pens to house dogs.
They have also said heavy traffic flow and high visibility in the area will help to curb break-ins and dog thefts — which have been an ongoing problem at the existing pound for a number of years.
Edmonds told members of the El Dorado City Council Wednesday that the new dog pound could be operational within three weeks.
“The dog pound is 90% complete. There’s still some grading work to do. We’ve had a lot of rain and ice. The panels on the front of the cages are being installed …,” Edmonds reported.
City Council Member David Hurst said he recently took a look at the site with Mayor Paul Choate.
“It’s really nice. It is really nice,” Hurst said.
While discussing the 10th Street project, Edmonds said the final 100 feet of the lid of the concrete box culvert was poured last week.
The pour-in-place box culvert spans several hundred feet on the north side of 10th
Street.
Crews have installed a headwall on the south side of the street and will add a sidewalk, curb and gutters and re-pour the road itself, adding some rock to the concrete base of the street.
“There’s some back-filling. They’re wrecking the forms out. If we can get another 10 to 15 days of dry weather, we’ll get the road and sidewalk poured back and hopefully, that thing can be forever behind us,” said Edmonds on Wednesday.
The job entailed the removal of a small bridgeway in the area. That section of 10th Street has been closed to traffic since early August of 2023.
The latest iteration of the project began late last summer but overall, work has been ongoing for nearly four years and has faced several challenges along with way.
Work on the project initially began in 2020 with a different contractor.
However, after issues arose with delays in the work and auditing problems, including overpayments and duplicate payments from the city to contractor, the city council agreed to award a new contract to the second highest bidder who submitted a proposal during the original bid period.
The new contract went to Diversified, who completed the job in November of 2021 for $69,493, bringing the total cost of the project to $414,371 at the time.
However, additional work was needed to correct issues that had arisen from initial repairs that were made in 2020 and 2021.
Last May, the El Dorado Works Board, who administers the El Dorado Works tax, and El Dorado City Council approved a funding request from the Department of Public Works, of more than $1.2 million for the job, which included the box culvert.
Components of the job called for the removal of pipes that had initially been installed and reportedly caused the ground to give way between Williams Court Apartments, 1600 N. Washington Ave., and Banderas Steakhouse, 200 W. 10th St.
The erosion of the ground created a large chasm that swallowed two outdoor heating and cooling units at Williams Court.
The city replaced the units and erected temporary barriers to prevent any further threats to the apartment complex as work progressed on installing the box culvert.
Complaints also came from Banderas.
Heavy machinery and equipment that were stored in the east section of the restaurant’s parking lot during the initial phases of the work in 2020 and 2021 limited parking space for customers and damaged the lot in that area.
The most recent work, particularly the closure of 10th Street since last summer, has also reportedly affected customer traffic at the business.
Edmonds previously said work on the project is progressing within the time frame of the 150-day contract that was allowed for the job.
The job is still on track to be completed by the end of January, he said.