South Portland-Burlingame Sewer Project

Sewer and Stormwater

Active

Environmental Services is constructing a project in the South Portland and South Burlingame neighborhoods that will repair approximately 7,108 linear feet of aging public sewer pipes, that are on average 90 years old. This will help protect public health and the Willamette River Watershed.

Construction began in June 2023 and will take up to a year and a half to complete.

Project Area

The simplified map below is a visual illustration of multiple work zones for the South Portland-Burlingame Sewer Project. The graphic shows details on planned sewer improvements, identifies construction methods, and informs where night or extended work hours will occur.

Simplified map of work zones and proposed construction hours in the South Portland - Burlingame Sewer Project — Simplified map for the South Portland - Burlingame Sewer Project. 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 June 2023 and was anticipated to be complete by late-November 2024. Due to uncharted project delays and inspection challenges, work is now extended into the Fall of 2025.

All work is weather-dependent, and the schedule below is subject to change due to contractor availability.

Thank you to all residents and surrounding businesses for their continued patience and understanding as the city contractor works to finalize the extended South Portland-Burlingame Sewer Project. Environmental Services recognizes that delays can be frustrating, and we truly appreciate your support throughout this process.

What's Happening Now?

Construction was temporarily paused in July due to extreme weather and safety inspection delays. Crews will begin permanent paving restoration at the intersection of South Boundary Street and South Macadam Avenue. This activity may temporarily disrupt and delay traffic, on-street parking may be restricted, and the traveling public is advised to follow detours accordingly. Work will resume in mid-August and continue into the fall, focusing on required night work and permanent paving restoration. Street resurfacing will be scheduled for a later date.

Night work is necessary to complete final paving when traffic volumes are the lowest. Noise and construction activities — especially during overnight hours — can be frustrating and disruptive to your daily life. This essential work is necessary to maintain and improve the reliability of Portland’s sewer system. Environmental

August 15 - October 15: Required Nighttime Work

Crews will conduct final paving restoration. This work will occur during nighttime hours between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 am at the following location:

Intersection of S Boundary St and S Macadam Ave: Traffic will be routed to one lane and bikes will merge with traffic. Please use caution throughout the area. Please obey all traffic control signs and follow the directions of all flaggers onsite.

Keeping You Informed

To reduce public traffic impacts, the Oregon Department of Transportation is requiring Environmental Services to perform final paving in nighttime hours. These construction hours will be in effect for six nights between the following dates: AUGUST 15 through OCTOBER 15.
Crews will temporarily pause construction on SEPTEMBER 1due toLabor Day. Crews to resume regular daytime construction hours on SEPTEMBER 2. Final paving restoration work is expected to take up to six days.
To complete this work, crews will utilize tools to dig pits, saw cut, and jackhammer concrete or asphalt surfaces. Once debris and older asphalt is removed, crews to begin paving and overlaying throughout the month.

Extreme Weather

When high temperatures, extreme heat, near freezing temperatures, or extreme cold are in the weather forecast, crews may adjust schedules to protect workers from the dangers of heat stress and cold stress. When working in extreme weather environments, all city workers, contractors, and subcontractors must follow Oregon’s OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) mandates and Environmental Services’ Heat Illness Safety and Health Plan and its Cold Stress Safety and Health Plan.

You may see crews taking more frequent water and rest breaks, stopping work at 12 p.m., and taking other protective measures during extreme weather.

Environmental Services encourages the traveling public to observe all closures and follow directions by flaggers. All work is weather-dependent, and the schedule below is subject to change due to contractor availability.

What to Expect During Construction

A Safe Work Site — We want you to be safe around the work site. Please keep children, pets, bikes, cars, and trucks away from the tools, machines, supplies, and construction workers.
Noise, Vibration, and Dust — Construction creates noise, vibration, and dust and disrupts normal neighborhood activity.
Traffic Delays — The work will slow down traffic in your neighborhood. Please read the traffic signs and follow directions from the workers with flags.
Access to Your Home or Business — You will be able to go to your home or business, but you may not be able to park as close as you would like. We will try to make sure driveways and parking lot entrances stay open.
Parking Restrictions — We want you to be safe, so you might not be able to park your car next to workspaces, equipment, or materials. If crews are working directly in front of your home or a business, you may need to park in another place.
Equipment Storage — Sometimes we will leave tools, machines, and supplies on your street overnight. Please stay away from them.
Maintained Service — You can still use sewer, water, and other services while we work on your street.
Work Hours — Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Sometimes we work on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Schedule Changes and Inactivity — Our work schedules can change for many reasons like weather, traffic, and problems with tools, machines, or supplies. Sometimes we need to stop between different types of work and start again later.

To learn more about construction impacts on projects Environmental Services manages, visit the What to Expect During Construction webpage.

Construction Methods

The project is designed to use the following sewer construction methods to repair or replace public sewer piping:

Cured-in-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP) — To install liners that seal cracks, help prevent root intrusion and restore the pipes to near-new condition.
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) — To construct sewer extensions and service laterals.
Jack and Bore — The contractor will drill a hole horizontally underground to install a new pipe where one was not one before.
Open Trench Excavation — To dig small trenches to replace short sections of broken pipe before repairing the entire mainline sewer pipe, and to construct sewer service laterals and access pits.
Pipe Reaming — Trenchless method to replace and upsize public sewer pipes.
Vactor Excavation — To install sewer cleanouts so that crews can access sewer connections to downtown buildings and maintain sewer service during repairs.

Private Belongings in the Right-of-Way

To construct the sewer extensions, crews will need to access and work in the public right-of-way — specifically between the curb and the edge of the sidewalk up to your property line. Anything belonging to you that is located in the right-of-way may be disturbed by construction, including irrigation systems, hard landscaping (stone, brick, pavers, garden boxes, retaining walls, or other construction materials), soft landscaping (trees, plants, shrubs, flowers, grass, bark, etc.), and other amenities. Please remove any items you wish to keep before crews get there. If the contractor finds items in the right-of-way that conflict with construction, crews will remove and dispose of the items.

If construction disturbs these kinds of items, the city cannot restore or replace them. However, once construction is complete, they will repair or replace sidewalks, driveway aprons, and curbs as needed. The city will also replace topsoil and grass seed in the planting strip, and any street trees that were removed.

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 tovisit portland.gov/bes/SPB for regular project details.
Questions? Call the message line or email city staff, stating that South Portland – Burlingame Sewer Project (E11080) is your project of concern. Outreach staff will return your call by the next business day.
Nighttime Construction Noise Complaint: To submit a report, call the City Noise Program hotline at 503-823-1338, stating your area of concern. 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.
Other Projects in the Area: To learn more aboutsewer and stormwater projects in Southwest Portland, visit the Find Environmental Services Projects webpage.

Project Background

The project scheduled for your neighborhood is part of the city’s program to maintain and upgrade the public sewer system. In the early 1900s, when Portland was growing rapidly, the city-built hundreds of miles of sewers. Since most sewer pipes have a lifespan of about 100 years, Portland is now facing an urgent need to modernize its aging system.

Environmental Services has launched a large-scale effort to repair or replace the highest priority pipes throughout the city. Your neighborhood will experience a temporary disruption but will benefit from the improved infrastructure.

The City of Portland is replacing aging and deteriorating sewer pipes with modern materials. These materials are more resistant to blockages than the materials used 80 to 100 years ago. The updates will provide a safe, efficient, and reliable sewer system for your neighborhood and the city.

We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation while we complete this important infrastructure work.

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