Two years ago crews finished work upgrading Louise Avenue between Main Street and Airport Way.

The $1.8 million project included building medians, adding landscaping along sidewalks, placing bike lanes along the four-lane arterial, and repaving the street that had become a bit rough to travel over the years.

Now Manteca is being forced to tear up a section of Louise Avenue in order to replace deteriorating sewer pipelines.

The Louise Avenue-Union Road sewer main rehabilitation project is expected to cost $2.4 million. The city conducted emergency repairs in February to a section of the line that was severely damaged.  There was significant corrosion and loss of concrete material due to exposure of hydrogen sulfide within the 30-inch reinforced concrete pipe.

The new project is being pursued to mitigate any further corrosion and damage that may occur in the near future.

The work involves lining existing sewer pipe from a lift station between the golf course and the Morezone Baseball Field that then goes to Union Road in alignment with Eucalyptus Street, then heads north along Union to Louise Avenue, and then heads east along Louise Avenue to Crestwood Avenue.

Traditional pipe replacement using deep excavation was not recommended for the 1.6-mile section due to the considerable traffic flow. Public works staff determined a liner installation would be a better route to use over traditional methods. Traffic disruption would be limited and immediate reopening of the sewer main can take place once the liner is cured. A cured-in-place liner will provide the city with a reliable pipe with an expected useful life of 50 years.  

The city originally bid the project seeking state-of-the-art ultraviolet cured fiberglass lining that provides favorable strength with a slender wall for maximum capacity. Due to limited contractors with expertise in the state-of-the-art method, the first round of bids did not come up with a qualified contractor. It is now being re-bid requiring a more traditional liner that will reduce the capacity somewhat.

The new bids are due Nov. 14.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com