The work scheduled for this year is going to be much more extensive than it was a year ago. The executive director of the Prospector Square Property Owners Association, Craig Dennis says it spent about $120,000 last year. This year, the budget is closer to $600,000.
Prospector Square was built in 1974, two years before the Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District was formed. The sewer lines installed at the time, Dennis says, were six inches compared to today’s standard of 8-inch pipes.
“We would like to turn over the maintenance to Snyderville but they require it, and rightfully so, 8-inch lines,” Dennis said. “And frankly, some of the lines have bellies in them; they’re just old lines that we have to maintain. Back 10 years ago Blind Dog was located at Esty Pizza. They had a backup that put them out of business for four days on New Year's Eve. We want to get away from those problems.”
Because they’re in the city soils district, he says they’ve got to be very careful with the soil that is dug up that contains mining remnants. Fortunately, he says, during the work last summer, the soil wasn’t as contaminated as they thought it might be. So, they were able to dispose of it locally, rather than hauling it to Tooele.
Work this year is starting in parking lot C where the liquor warehouse and Fuego are located
“That's only going to take about two to three weeks. Then we move up to lot A, which is the 7-Eleven lot. All of this is off of Sidewinder. We start at a manhole in the middle of Sidewinder and effectively move upstream, go through Berrett Lane, all the way to Albertos and lot I. That's going to take two to three months at least. And that's going to be the most extensive work.”
The biggest challenge he believes will be the loss of 150 parking stalls during construction.
“We hope most employees will park a little farther away. We've sent out multiple emails encouraging that. We're starting now in the slow season. Lot I has probably half the parking this morning than it did just a couple of weeks ago. It's going to be tight. And frankly, people are going to have to walk a block or two.”
There will also be traffic backups on Sidewinder. Dennis says they’re still working out the details, but residents should expect to see portions of Sidewinder closed. There could also be bus route impacts as well.
Sewer service could be turned off to businesses during construction, but he expects that would only be for an hour or so while connections are made from the old line to the new line.
The project is being paid for by association members. Last year, the 64 members passed a $1.6 million assessment to pay for the sewer improvements as well as parking lot improvements and new lighting.
More information on the project can be found here.
