Plans underway to replace pipes in water system

The Marin Municipal Water District is gearing up to replace old, leak-prone pipes in San Anselmo and Corte Madera.

The district's board authorized construction contracts last week with Maggiora & Ghilotti Inc. for the two projects.

One contract is for $2.86 million of work on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near Archie Williams High School, and the other is for $4.38 million in the Marin Estates neighborhood around Granada Drive in east Corte Madera.

Although the San Anselmo project is smaller, the traffic implications are much greater as Sir Francis Drake is a major thoroughfare for the greater Ross Valley community, officials said. “It's going to be a tough summer with a lot of construction traffic,” said Scott Schneider, assistant director of public works for San Anselmo.

Schneider said that over the last several years there have been a few water main breaks on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard where the cast-iron pipe is 100 years old. One leak shut down all four lanes of the road for several hours in the middle of the school day, Schneider said.

The project will replace about 4,000 feet of pipe with new welded steel pipe on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between San Francisco Boulevard and Butterfield Road. Another 270 feet of pipe will be replaced on Broadmoor Avenue and 260 feet on Saunders Avenue. Schneider said the upgrade is needed to prevent traffic jams. Town officials are happy to get the project underway, he said.

“We've been talking with the contractor about traffic control and how we can maximize the throughput of traffic and minimize impacts to the traveling public and get the projects constructed as quickly as possible,” Schneider said.

Construction is expected no earlier than June 17 to accommodate the end of the school year, said Jessie Underhill, spokesperson for the Marin Municipal Water District.

“To minimize impacts, Marin Water has reduced construction working hours to accommodate peak traffic volumes on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and the start of the new school year in the fall,” Underhill said. The project budget, including contingency, materials, labor and inspection, is $3.8 million.

The Granada Drive project in Corte Madera is expected to be less disruptive but longer. Construction is expected to get going in May and continue through March.

The $5.56 million project will replace 10,230 feet of cast-iron pipe with welded steel pipe, valves and other fixtures on roads in the Marin Estates neighborhood, where most of the water lines were installed in 1956.