Lift station project nears completion

A decade after construction began, the Lift Station 87 project is almost complete.

In an update to residents last week, city staff said the project team hoped to reopen the Osprey Avenue bridge by June 11, bringing an end to a traffic diversion in place since May 2020. The road was closed for the installation of sewer lines and other infrastructure for Lift Station 87, a wastewater facility located south of downtown at 1900 Mound St.

The project schedule details seven weeks of work remaining to make gravity sewer connections on Pomelo Avenue, at which point the decommissioning and demolition of the aging Lift Station 7 facility at 935 Pomelo Ave. is scheduled to begin. The city approved the Lift Station 87 project in 2008 to replace Lift Station 7 following a series of failures that led to more than 1 million gallons of sewage spilling into Hudson Bayou.

The construction of Lift Station 87 has involved a series of delays and cost overruns. The city’s first estimates suggested that the project could take 18 months to build at a cost of $8.5 million. As of 2020, the city estimated the 10-year project would carry a total price of $68.5 million, including $48.6 million for construction-related expenses.

There was at least one additional delay prior to completion: Although the city hoped to have the project done by March, work is scheduled to continue into the summer. City spokesperson Jan Thornburg said that beginning May 17, crews will close a segment of Pomelo Avenue to vehicular traffic to facilitate gravity sewer connections. The construction will block access to 15 homes located between Alta Vista Street and 960 Pomelo Ave. through May 27, Thornburg said.

The work on that segment of the project will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, which Thornburg said is an effort to expedite the reopening of the street.

“The crews are really going to ramp things up and extend work hours in order to finish this faster,” Thornburg said.

Hudson Bayou resident Rick Fine lives near the intersection of Alta Vista Street and Citrus Avenue, situated between the closed segment of Osprey Avenue and the frequently used detour route along Orange Avenue. Fine said the construction associated with the lift station project has created some challenges for the neighborhood, particularly when it comes to traffic in the area. Still, Fine was largely complimentary of the effort construction workers made to communicate with residents within the constraints the project created.

“I think they were trying,” Fine said. “Like any other project, there’s unforeseen things that maybe could have been planned a little bit better.”

Fine said he was concerned about the wear and tear on the neighborhood streets caused by construction truck traffic, and he was encouraged when he learned the city intended to repave the roads in front of his home. Fine anticipated that, despite residents’ frustration with the inconveniences associated with the lift station project, any issues would not linger once construction is complete.

“I don’t think you can make everybody happy in this thing, but as soon as it’s over, it’ll be in the rearview mirror,” Fine said.

Lift Station 87 began operating in October 2020. The facility was built to handle one-third of the city’s wastewater. Today, it handles more than 99% of its intended capacity, Thornburg said.

The decommissioning and demolition of Lift Station 7 is scheduled to start June 30. Once the facility is demolished, the city intends to build a small park on the site with landscaping, fencing and benches. The construction of the park — the last phase of work on the Lift Station 87 project — is scheduled for completion Aug. 7.