Work on the new Highway 169 bridge is set to resume on April 11. The new bridge should be completed this summer, possibly as early as July. But residents of Tower are also in for some other detours this summer.

The city is undertaking another large road construction project, which involves water and sewer line improvements on North Second Street, stretching from Norway to Cedar, as well as work on the cross streets between North Second and Main Street (see map on page 8).

And while the project will impact traffic throughout the summer, it also means that houses along the affected routes will need to have their sewer lines surveyed, to make sure they are not leaking or allowing fresh water to infiltrate into the city’s sewer system.

The inspections are part of a relatively new city policy, that was first put into action last summer, for the houses on North Third Street. The rationale behind the policy is two-fold: to insure that fresh water is not infiltrating into the city’s sewer system, and to prevent future problems from deteriorating home sewer lines that require newly-laid blacktop to be dug up and then patched. Home sump pumps will also be inspected to make sure they are not pumping fresh water into the septic line.

Last summer approximately 30 homes had their sewer lines inspected, and the vast majority did require replacement. The city did get a standard rate for home line replacements from the contractor who bid on the infrastructure project. This year the home inspections will be done before the road work begins. The city again anticipates getting a flat rate for home line replacement.

City homeowners are generally responsible for their own water and sewer lines between the home and the hookup on the street’s edge.

The city has been seeing a noticeable improvement in freshwater infiltration rates with the repair of aging city infrastructure along with the home inspections and repair.

At Monday’s meeting, council members discussed payment options for homeowners. The inspection itself costs $150, which the council discussed adding to homeowner’s water bills if they desired. The council had set up a low-interest loan program for residents who needed to have their lines replaced, but last year not a single homeowner took advantage of the program.

All the homeowners who will be required to have an inspection will receive a letter from the city detailing the process. The city will hire someone to do the line inspections and will schedule the inspections. The decision on whether or not a line needs to be replaced will be made by the project engineer John Jamnick.

Tower Mayor Steve Abrahamson noted that some homeowners will be upset to learn that their sewer line, which may appear to be working fine, needs to be replaced.

“We flush and away it goes,” Abrahamson said, noting that he is one of the residents who will need to get their line inspected.

The project is being completed in conjunction with a St. Louis County road project that involves milling and new blacktop on County Road 697, from Main Street, up Cedar and then onto Hoodoo Point Road, as well as milling and new overlay on County Road 126 (which is North Second Street).

The $1.4 million dollar project includes $685,000 in funding from St. Louis County, for the work on County Roads 697 and 126. The city also has $470,000 in funding from the Army Corps, $104,000 in CDBG funding (still awaiting final approval), $50,000 in CDBG funding from 2010 and $106,200 in city funds committed to the project.

Bids on the project will be awarded around May 1.