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Label:
Sewer and stormwater
Label:
Active
This project will replace roughly 1050 feet of deteriorating brick trunk sewer lines that were built in 1889. This project will also be extending 100 feet of sewer on SW Market St. These repairs were necessary to maintain reliable sewer service and protect public health and the environment.
Construction on the Tanner Trunk Sewer Project is scheduled to begin in May 2026 and take 6 months to complete.
Project Map
Text description of the Tanner Trunk Sewer Project map.
What's Happening Now?
The SW Tanner Trunk Sewer Project is going into construction this May. Before construction begins, crews will be in the area to perform investigative activities. Activities include marking the location of sewer pipes and underground utilities with temporary paint, surveying the land, and establishing traffic control signage.
During surveying and utility marking, crews will paint markings on the street in different colors. They may also place small flags in the ground, or wooden stakes with ribbons. Find a list of the colors and meanings.
While local access to private driveways will be always maintained, access may be delayed. On-street parking will be temporarily removed within the work area.
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. This project also included the following construction elements:
- Removal of an abandoned gas line that is no longer in use on SW 17th between SW Madison and Jefferson streets. When removing the gas line, there may be an odor during excavation, but this is residual to the abandoned pipe and does not pose a threat to the public or crew.
- Removal of buried trolley track rails and ties to install new sewer pipes.
- Extension of the public sewer in SW Market Street Drive just west of SW 19th Avenue to resolve nonconforming sewer connections and provide properties an independent connection to the public sewer.
Private Improvements in the Right-of-Way
To construct the sewer 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.
Proposed Night Work
To help reduce impacts to the public and complete work safely and efficiently, Environmental Services is proposing both daytime and nighttime work at:
- The intersection of SW Jefferson Street and SW 17th Avenue
- SW 17th Avenue between SW Jefferson and Columbia streets
Work in these locations is expected to take up to four weeks.
Noisier work—such as saw cutting concrete and asphalt, jackhammering, and excavation —will occur during daytime hours.
Overnight work may include equipment such as vactor trucks (sewer cleaning trucks), light tower trucks, compressors, generators, pumps, and ventilation fans. Crews will work to minimize noise whenever possible. When appropriate, noise-reduction measures may include sound baffles, white-noise backup alarms, and other mitigation strategies.
Submit Comments to Noise Office
Portland Noise Code allows construction from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Work before 7 a.m., after 6 p.m., and all day Sunday requires a noise variance from the Portland Noise Office.
Environmental Services intends to apply for a noise variance to allow the contractor to work during both daytime and nighttime hours. Your comments about the proposed night work are important and will be considered as part of the Noise Office review process.
Please submit your comments by Friday, March 27, to:
Portland Noise Office
Email: noise@portlandoregon.gov
Phone: 503-823-7350
When submitting comments, please reference:E11711 SW Tanner Trunk Sewer Project
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.
- 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.
SW Market Street Sewer Extension
Environmental Services is extending the public sewer in SW Market Street as part of the Tanner Trunk project. This work is part of the City's ongoing effort to provide property owners a way to directly and independently connect to the public sewer system in order to meet current City Code requirements.
Nonconforming Sewers
The Nonconforming Sewer Office will be contacting some individual property owners who may need to connect to the new sewer main. Follow the link for more information on nonconforming sewer connections.
What is a Trunk Sewer
A trunk sewer line is a large pipe, usually between 30 to 72 inches in diameter. Trunk sewer lines are a collector for smaller sewer lines that you find in most residential streets in Portland. These neighborhood lines are anywhere from 8 to 15 inches in diameter. Waste flows from the smaller neighbor sewer mainlines to a larger trunk sewer which transfers that waste to the treatment plant.
Trivia Question: What is the largest sewer in Portland (bonus points for diameter)? See below "Sign Up for Updates" for answer.
Other Nearby Projects
In order to replace the old trunk sewer, the Portland Water Bureau must first come through and replace some older water lines that sit above the sewer and could be damaged due to construction. By replacing the water lines ahead of the sewer line, the water lines will be more secure from cracking and breaking when the larger trunk sewer underneath is replaced. We will provide more information on the timeline for the Water Bureau work when it becomes available.
PGE will also be in the neighborhood this Spring upgrading powerlines. Here is a link to PGE's project webpage that can provide more information about that project and contact information.
For More Information
Environmental Services will inform residents and businesses about project activities and respond to questions and concerns in a timely manner. We encourage you to:
- Visit this project webpage for updates.
- With questions or comments, please contact Joe Tursi by email or phone 503-823-6313.
- If you have a question or concern, please be sure to include your name, property address, and project name (Tanner Trunk Sewer Project) in your voicemail and email so we can provide you more details about what to expect in front of your property.
- If your basement sewer backs up or your property or street floods, please report it immediately to the City’s Maintenance Operations hotline at 503-823-1700. It is staffed 24/7, all hours and all days.
Sign Up for Updates
Sign up for periodic email or text message updates for the 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.
Answer: The Big Pipe with a diameter of 22 feet!