The intersection of Highways 45 and 9 are bustling in Parkville right now, with road and commercial projects now under way.
Long time consulting engineer Jay Norco’s contract with the city for services was renewed at the Tuesday, May 3 meeting of the Parkville Board of Aldermen. Norco, with North Hills Engineering, has worked with the city since the mid-1990s and helped the city catch up with sewer system maintenance, including implementation of a closed-circuit television system to inspect sewer lines.
Those inspections have located problem areas across the city and the aging clay sewer pipe installed in the intersection of Hwys. 45 and 9 in the 1960s was known to be cracked, but recent activity in the area sped up the timetable for repair.
The upcoming construction of a Dairy Queen in the Parkville Commons area sped up the need for repairs, as did a recent recording of the pipe showing additional deterioration.
A construction agreement with Westland Construction was also approved at that meeting to immediately begin work on repairs. Norco told the board about 15 feet of the clay sewer line serving the intersection, including Graden Elementary School and Jimmy Johns, had collapsed. The line lies nearly 20 feet beneath the surface, making it a “touchy utility repair,” and the contractor must coordinate with Evergy for relocation of a utility pole directly in the path of the repair.
“Now is the perfect time to repair that, before they start in that parking lot on the Dairy Queen,” Norco said.
The city received a lower bid from another contractor, but upon investigation that contractor had a recent history of incomplete jobs.
“We don’t want this to drag out for months,” he said. “We want this done so customers can start rolling through the Dairy Queen.”
Director of public works Alysen Abel joked that the city needed to hurry up with the repair so she could get a Dilly Bar sooner rather than later.
Work on the reconstruction of Hwy. 9 has also picked up with improved weather and a dispute with a contractor over a project change order has led the city to hire a special attorney to protect its interests.
Sigfreid Bingham was hired last week as special counsel to handle this dispute and any other project-related issues, if they should arise.
Abel also reported work on the reconstruction of Pocket Park in downtown Parkville is well under way. Engineering plans for the relocation of the Bill Grigsby statue are also in the works. The new stairs at the park should be open to the public before July.
Busch Drive in English Landing Park is currently being improved, with a new retaining wall installed and a fountain expected to be installed this week.
In Platte Landing Park, the city is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to address concerns about the wetlands restoration project, which was completed in 2020 yet has not performed as planned.
The city is working with the project contractor to address problems with invasive species, and with the Corps to determine why water is not ponding in the area as expected.
“There’s something about the soil in the park and it’s like a bathtub – the water just drains out instead of ponding,” Abel said.
Contractors have also seeded areas containing erosion control materials to better cover unattractive meshing.
Abel said the end result may not look like artist renderings created before the project began, but she believes the end product will benefit the community and create a place for wildlife.