October 21, 2011

Good afternoon,

This week’s briefing will be a little different from previous editions. With work winding down within about 85% of the project boundaries but still very active between Ireland and Ilwaco Streets, it seems useful to step back a bit and provide a more comprehensive overview of the remaining tasks. While the 85% has been deemed “substantially” complete in accordance with the City’s contract with Strider Construction, work is still underway to reach “physical” completion. Of course, completion of the archaeology block will not begin until it has been cleared for construction.

Here is what we know at the moment about how the project will reach full completion:

The Punchlist

□ A small crew from Strider Construction will be on the street Monday through Wednesday of next week working on the project “punchlist.” This list was created to document the remaining work tasks, from small to large, including those on private property where some damage has occurred as a result of the construction (chipped windows, broken tiles, uneven thresholds, etc.).

□ Of the remaining punchlist items, only a small number will likely be disruptive to pedestrian and/or vehicular travel. Of particular note is the ongoing work to re-line the old manholes and the upcoming work to sandblast (for texture) the concrete panels that provide a transition between the large and small sidewalk grid patterns.

□ There are several items on the punchlist that will be completed when the contractor and subcontractors return to town to complete the archaeological area.

□ The street, sidewalks, parking and other improvements in the unfinished area between Ireland and Ilwaco will be completed at the conclusion of the archaeology work. Subject to the availability of subcontractors and, of course, our fall and winter weather, Strider anticipates that the time needed to finish off this final section could be 4 to 6 weeks.

The Archaeology

□ The crew from Northwest Archaeological Associates is on track to complete excavation work within the southern half of Pioneer Way by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week.

□ When the southern half has been completed, the temporary fencing will be moved to the northern half of the street to enclose the future parking area in front of Mike’s Mini Mart (we anticipate that neither Ireland nor Ilwaco will be blocked by the fencing). Concurrent with moving the fencing, the southern half of the street will be prepped for traffic and will become the new temporary driving lane.

□ Once the enclosure is in place on the northern half, Northwest Archaeological Associates will begin excavation to recover any human remains or other cultural materials in this area. While we obviously can’t be certain until the work is underway, the expectation is that finding significant new discoveries on the north side is fairly remote given the degree of recent disturbance from utility work and the relatively shallow excavation needed to build the street.

□ Looking ahead, recovery work within the piles of soil removed from Pioneer Way and deposited at a local gravel pit must still be scheduled and completed.

The Underground Power Conversions

□ The entire project area has now been energized by Puget Sound Energy (Potelco) and is available for connection by those customers who must convert their overhead lines to a new underground service. By State law, these conversions must be completed within 90 days from when the underground power is available. The last group of customers has been notified that they have until January 18, 2012 to complete their conversion work.

□ Once all the customer conversions have been completed (likely at some point early in 2012), PSE, Frontier and Comcast can remove their overhead wires from the poles and soon thereafter the poles themselves can be pulled. Lastly, the sidewalk will be repaired where the poles were removed and the rest of the street lights can be installed.

The Project Office

□ The “For Lease” sign is up at 720 SE Pioneer Way, Suite 1. The City has given notice that it will be pulling up stakes at the Pioneer Construction Office by November 10, 2011.

□ Project staff will mostly be out by November 4 although we will still be working actively on the street until the project is finished. Please note that one or more of us will continue to be available on Tuesday mornings beginning November 8 between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, most likely at Angelo’s Caffe.

Scheduled Gatherings/Events

AM TUESDAY COFFEES Every Tuesday morning – 9:00 to 10:00 am
Pioneer Way Information and Construction Office (only two more chances!)
Have a cup and pastry, hear what’s on the schedule for that week

Key City Contact People

These are your go-to City staff for issues connected to the construction project:

Larry Cort
Project Manager
360 914-7107
lcort@oakharbor.org

Joe Stowell
Project Engineer
360 279-4520
jstowell@oakharbor.org

Rhonda Severns
City Utilities
360 914-7256
rhseverns@oakharbor.org