NE 57th Avenue Sewer Extension Project

Sewer and Stormwater

Active

Environmental Services has constructed a sewer project to extend the public sewer system in the Rose Park City neighborhood. This work is part of the City’s effort to provide property owners a way to directly and independently connect to the public sewer system to meet current plumbing code.

Construction began in Spring of 2025 and should take up to four months to complete.

Project Overview

The NE 57th Avenue Sewer Extension Project will build a new maintenance hole and one sewer extension, totaling 340 LF (flood line) of mainline sewer, to serve properties with nonconforming sewer connections. Lateral properties with ageing sewers experience higher rates of sewer blockage, pipe fractures, seepage, and water corrosion due to pipe deterioration. The City requires individual properties to have direct and independent connections to the public sewer system.

Building a public sewer main extension allows property owners a safer and sanitary way to directly access the public sewer. This project will resolve one property with a nonconforming sewer and convert four properties with inadequate septic systems. Hydraulic modeling and analysis further confirm the addition of the new sewer extension will benefit the community-at-large. Extensions can improve drainage systems, preventing flooding and water damage to nearby greenspaces, public sporting facilities, small businesses, and city streets.

The project will help protect public health, property, and the environment by increasing the capacity of the public sewer system, reducing the risk of basement sewer backups, as well as lessen the likelihood of costly emergency maintenance work in the future.

Project Area 

The extension project will take place on NE 57th Avenue, between NE Hassalo and Wasco Streets, across from Normandale Park.

Map of pipe repair work for the NE 57th Ave Sewer Extension Project. Pipe work is located on NE 57th avenue between NE Hassalo and Wasco Streets. — The graphic above is a simplified project map for the NE 57th Avenue Sewer Extension Project. The simplified map is a visual representation of the work zone and shows details on planned pipe work. Please note this map is not up to scale and does not provide an accurate measurement of the actual distances between places or the exact size of features.

General Schedule 

Construction began in mid-May 2025. City contractor to complete all work by the end of June 2025.

What's Happening Now?

Over the next several weeks, the city contractor will finish repairing pipes using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and cured-in-place-pipe lining (CIPP). Once all work is inspected, work crews to focus on paving restoration. Upon completion, demobilization and cleaning of the work zone to happen immediately. City contractor to complete minor punch list repairs and close site by the end of June or earlier.

Look-ahead Schedule

The traveling public should stay alert to all workers, equipment, temporary changes to traffic, on-street parking restrictions, and should anticipate delays during peak travel periods. Crews will collaborate with residents and surrounding businesses to maintain local access and services. The look-ahead schedule below can assist in planning your commute and reviewing priorities accordingly.

All work is weather-dependent, and the schedule below is subject to change due to several factors: contractor and subcontractor availabilities, readiness of building materials, underground conditions, impacts of nearby construction projects, and other unforeseen circumstances.

Rest of the Week:

Daytime work hours are Wednesday through Friday, and possibly Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following location:

NE 57th Avenue, between NE Hassalo and Wasco Streets — Work crews finish installation of lateral pipes via HDD. Crews continue install of remaining laterals via open cut and install new maintenance hole. Traffic will be routed to one lane on the south side of NE 57^th Avenue.

Week of June 23:

Daytime work hours are Monday through Friday, and possibly Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following location:

NE 57th Avenue, between NE Hassalo and Wasco Streets — Work crews finish all lateral repairs and start paving. Traffic will be routed to one lane on the south side of NE 57^th Avenue.

Week of June 30:

Daytime work hours are Monday through Friday, and possibly Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following location:

NE 57th Avenue, between NE Hassalo and Wasco Streets — Work crews finish all lateral repairs and possibly start paving. Traffic will be routed to one lane on the south side of NE 57^th Avenue.

Friday, July 4 - There will be no construction work on July 4 due to the observance of the US Independence Day holiday. Additionally, most City of Portland facilities and offices will be closed.

Please obey all traffic control signs and follow the directions of all flaggers onsite.

What to Expect During Construction

You can expect the following activities and impacts during construction:

Noise, Vibration, and Dust: Construction creates noise, vibration, and dust, and disrupts normal neighborhood activity. 
Equipment Storage: Some equipment and materials may be stored overnight on your street, nearby streets, or other public right-of-way areas.
Parking Restrictions: On-street parking will be restricted in and near the work zones to create a safe work environment and to stage equipment and materials. On days when crews will be working in front of your house or nearby, please plan ahead. If you park your vehicle on the street, plan to move it off the street by 7 a.m. and return it at 6 p.m. 
Traffic Delays: Expect traffic delays in and near the work area. The contractor will develop detailed traffic control plans for each location.
Pedestrian Access: If temporary crosswalk and sidewalk closures are necessary, signage will indicate the alternate way for pedestrians to proceed. 
Local Access: Local access to all properties will be maintained, but construction activities may impact or delay normal use of your driveway. Please allow for extra time for our crews to make the area safe before entering or leaving the construction zone.
Maintained Services: Sewer, water, garbage and recycling pick-up, as well as other utilities are expected to remain in service during construction. 
Schedule Changes and Inactivity: Construction schedules can change due to a variety of factors, including conditions underground, weather, traffic impacts, subcontractor schedules, and availability of materials. These same variables may cause periods of inactivity during construction phases.

To learn more about pre-construction activities and what to expect during construction on Environmental Services' projects, please visit What to Expect During Construction.

Construction Methods

The city contractor will use several construction methods to repair or replace public sewer pipes. Most of the methods will be trenchless, although some of those methods will require digging access pits to install pipes. Trenchless methods avoid having to dig deep and long trenches in Northeast Portland streets to replace whole pipes.

The project is currently designed to use the following sewer construction methods:

Cured-in-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP): CIPP lining is a trenchless method of sewer construction. It requires little or no digging and significantly less time to complete than other sewer repair methods. It is suitable for repairing both short and long runs of pipes that do not need to be upsized.
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD): A trenchless method of sewer construction. It is suitable for soft to hard clays, wet soils, and environmentally sensitive areas. This method avoids having to dig large pits to install jacking and boring machines.
Open Trench Excavation: Open trench is the traditional method of sewer construction and the most common method for replacing a sewer pipe, especially if the original pipe needs to be upsized.
Pipe Bursting: Pipe bursting is a trenchless method of sewer construction. It is an alternative to the Open Trench Excavation method that allows for replacing or upsizing an existing pipe without the need for a traditional construction trench.

To learn more about sewer and stormwater repairs and replacements on Environmental Services' projects, please visit Sewer Construction Methods.

Nonconforming Sewers

The Nonconforming Sewer Program contacts individual property owners who will need to connect to the new sewer main or will be directly impacted by the project. Typically, a nonconforming sewer property does not have a separate lateral connection to the City's sewer, or the property's lateral crosses another property's lot.

Nonconforming Sewer Types

There are three basic kinds of nonconforming sewers:

Party Sewers: Party sewers are when two or more private sewer laterals join in a single pipe before connecting to the public sewer in the public right-of-way.
Cross Property Line Connections: Some private sewer laterals cross property lines to make an independent connection to the public sewer in the public right-of-way. If no recorded easement allows the private sewer lateral to cross another property, if city staff has not approved your easement, or if the lateral does not meet set standards and requirements, this is a nonconforming sewer connection.
Nonconforming Private Sewer Line in the Right-of-Way: Some nonconforming sewer connections are private sewer lines extending beyond the property boundary, typically parallel to the public right-of-way, and connecting with the public sewer. Most of these private lines were never recorded, so their location is not marked before utility construction in the right-of-way. The inability to mark a private sewer line in the right-of-way can make the owner liable for construction delays and equipment damage.

To learn more about nonconforming sewer connections and, call the Nonconforming Sewer Office at 503-823-7869, or please visit Nonconforming Sewers.

Converting Septic Systems to Sewer Connections

Environmental Services’ goal is to provide all residential, commercial, and industrial customers access to the public sewer. Sometimes Environmental Services extends service to multiple residential properties on septic. This brings reliable sewer service to properties before their septic systems fail. In other cases, a developed property on septic may have a public sewer immediately available within a public right-of-way or easement.

To learn more about septic conversion and sewer connections, please visit Converting Septic Systems to Sewer Connections.

We Want to Hear from You

Environmental Services will inform residents and businesses about project activities and respond to questions and concerns in a timely manner. The following resources will help you stay informed and report concerns:

Project Webpage: Continue to visit portland.gov/bes/ne57thave for regular project details.
Questions? Please kindly leave a message at 503-823-5759 or email city staff, stating that NE 57th Avenue Sewer Extension Project (E11542) is your project of concern. Outreach staff will return your call by the next business day.
Construction Noise Complaint: To report a noise concern, please call the City Noise Program at 503-823-7350 or email city staff stating concerns. The noise hotline is monitored by site inspectors.
Sewer Emergency: In the event of a sewer backup or basement flooding, call the City Maintenance hotline immediately at 503-823-1700. It is staffed all hours and all days, 24/7.

Sign Up for Updates

Sign up for periodic email or text message updates for the NE 57th Avenue Sewer Extension Project through our free GovDelivery subscription service. These updates are the best way to stay informed about what’s happening and what to expect. You can also sign up for bulletins on other projects and topics.

This project will help protect the health of the Willamette River Watershed.