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9.12.04 Work on State Street water main to begin It's a basic rule. You can't have development without water service. So a $2.1 million water main being installed along State Street northwest of Omaha should be a welcome site for home builders. The Metropolitan Utilities District is placing a 36-inch-wide water main from 138th to 165th Streets. The water main work will close State Street from 120th Street to Old Military Road for two weeks beginning Monday. A detour will be posted as crews work at 144th Street. The main will have two functions. It will act as a transmission line to distribute water to future growth in the area between Omaha and Bennington. It also will help current residents in northwest Omaha with better water pressure. The main will be hooked into a $3.1 million pumping station being built at 141st and State Streets. "As that area grows, our pressure problems will only get worse" without construction, said Scott Keep, a senior vice president with M.U.D. The main will help carry water from M.U.D.'s Florence Water Treatment Plant to homes and businesses in northwest Omaha. The pumping station should improve water pressure for more than 10,000 existing M.U.D. customers, said spokeswoman Mari Matulka. Water has to be pumped to the area because of the higher elevation north of the city. Officials expect the water main and pumping station to be up and running by next May. Steve Jensen, assistant planner for Omaha, said the only two developments being built in the area now are the Waterford and Pine Creek subdivisions. He said nothing is platted for most of the immediate area north of State Street. Though future growth will be aided by the new water main, Jensen said the city has limited sewer capacity in the area. The city has held off on sewer improvements until streets and other infrastructure are upgraded, he said. Dan Kutilek, planning manager with the Douglas County Engineer's Office, said the State Street closure is needed as crews dig underground to install a section of the water main. "We worked real hard to pick an alignment to avoid as many conflicts as we could," Kutilek said of laying down the main. He said State Street sees mostly local traffic, which has been lighter this summer because of work on Blair High Road to the east. |
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