The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – With no responses to the first set of bid requests for water line repairs under the Touchet River Bridge, Waitsburg’s city council voted to resubmit and try again. If repairs are not made soon, they will be pushed to next year and may happen while the Main Street Bridge is under construction, potentially causing water pressure issues.

A leaking line under the Touchet River Bridge, located near Preston Park, was discovered last year, but does not seem to be getting any worse. It is believed that a water line is leaking somewhere under the road, migrating back to the abutment, and flowing out where the pipe goes through, according to City Manager Randy Hinchliffe.

“We think it probably goes back to the 1996 flood when something large went under the bridge and probably hit or bent the pipe. Over time, it probably finally wiggled loose, corroded or broke,” he said.

Repair costs are estimated at $37,000 for a five day contract. Hinchliffe said the bulk of the work will probably take place over a two-day period, with the bridge being closed to one lane traffic during that time.

Ideally, the repair, which needs to happen during low water levels, would be completed by mid-October. If it is not done by then, the project will be delayed until next year which means both the Touchet River Bridge and the Main Street Bridge could be under construction at the same time. The loss of two main water lines at once could have a severe impact on the city’s water pressure.

The city initially sent out five bids but failed to receive any responses. Hinchliffe told council members that at least two bidders had said they planned to bid but were unable to because one was too busy and the other was dealing with a family crisis.

The council approved resubmitting the bids that are due in by Wed., Aug. 31. The city council will hold a special meeting to approve the lowest responsible bidder so that repairs can begin as soon as possible.