SW 61st Culvert Project

Project Area

View full size image of A Simplified map of the SW 61st Culvert location

What's Happening Now

Over the next few weeks, work crews will be in the area to perform activities such as site visits and evaluation, survey, utility locates, culvert cleaning and inspection, tree and vegetation trimming and removals, traffic control signage. Some investigative activities will require restricting parking and temporarily closing travel lanes. The traveling public should expect minor traffic delays. Information gathered will help determine the replacement method, stormwater management methods, and how to minimize construction impacts on residents and businesses.

To learn more about soil sampling, locating utilities, and other investigative activities go to visit the Pre-Construction webpage. 

Construction Schedule

Week of August 17:

• Traffic control measures will be installed, including signage and no parking signs.
• Utilities will be identified and marked around the construction area.
• Crews will bring equipment and materials onsite to begin excavation the following week.

Week of August 24:

• Crews will be clearing the area from vegetation around the culvert
• Crews will begin installing the new culvert pipe in SW 61st and the headwalls at either end of the new culvert

Week of August 31:

• Crews will continue installing the culvert pipe and headwalls at either end of the culvert.

What to Expect During Construction

You can expect the following activities and impacts 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. Crew members can help you safely enter or exit your driveway or business parking lot.
• Local Access Only: SW 61st Avenue will be closed to through traffic.
• 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.
• 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: 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. 

Visit the Construction Impacts webpage for more information on what to expect during construction.

Construction Methods

The contractor will use an open trench construction method. Open trench excavation consists of digging down to and exposing the existing pipe, removing the existing pipe or a section of it, installing a new pipe or a section of new pipe, and then backfilling the trench.

Private Improvements in the Right-of-Way 

To construct the culvert project, 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 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 crew members 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 that were removed. If there is an item of concern that can't be removed ahead of construction, please let Joe Tursi, the project's outreach representative know.

Project Background

The culvert that runs under SW 61st Avenue was found to be undersized which has led to flooding in the area. Replacing this culvert will restore critical infrastructure that helps reduce flooding and will result in improved water flows and quality.

We Want to Hear From You

Environmental Services will inform businesses and residents about project activities and respond to questions and concerns in a timely manner. Please let us know if you have concerns such as business operations, local access, delivery routes and schedules, or other concerns. 

Sign Up for Project Updates

Sign up for regular email or text message updates for this and other projects 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.