×

City projects await lifting of federal executive order funds

Vehicles travel north on 16th Street Southwest toward 11th Avenue Tuesday. The roadway from 14th Avenue to Burdick is scheduled for reconstruction this year.

Based on action by the Minot City Council Monday, the city will be preparing to bid reconstruction on a portion of 16th Street Southwest and seeking a loan to fund efforts to identify and replace lead service lines.

However, a presidential order that paused distribution of certain federal funds has potential to delay the progress on those two projects.

Last week, the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality released information obtained from the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, stating funds for lead service lines are affected by the executive order.

Jason Sorenson, Utilities director, said a possible delay isn’t expected to have a significant impact on the city’s plan to address its water lines made with lead, which is a contaminant when leaching into water. The city will apply for a federal loan in hope of starting the service line identification this summer. Should the funding delay interfere with that timeline, he said, the work would simply be postponed until the funds are released.

The Environmental Protection Agency made federal funds available as part of requiring identification and eventual replacement of lead service lines around the country. The City of Minot submitted a loan request to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, which administers federal funds in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Under the program, the city is eligible for a half percent interest rate on 34% of the loan, with the remaining 66% of the loan forgivable. The estimated cost of identifying the more than 8,000 service lines of unknown material is $4.4 million, according to city information. Replacement is estimated at $25 million.

The 16th Street reconstruction project already has been delayed by federal funding holdups. The work was ready to bid in November but was pushed back until Congress was able to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, City Engineer Lance Meyer said.

“We were getting a little concerned because it’s a big project – $12 million,” he said. Finding enough contractors to get competitive bids can be problematic if bids can’t be let until contractors already have their projects lined up, he explained.

The bid plans were pushed back multiple times but now bid letting is scheduled for March 14, which Meyer said should still attract competitive bids. The catch is the executive order led the Federal Highway Administration to pause the program that would help fund the 16th Street project.

Meyer voiced optimism the federal funds will be released by March. On the strength of that optimism, the council voted to sign an agreement with the North Dakota Department of Transportation that will enable the 16th Street Southwest reconstruction to go out for bids in March.

Federal funds for construction are estimated at $9.67 million, and the city’s share is estimated at $2.6 million, according to information provided to the city council.

The project encompasses 16th Street between 14th Avenue Southwest and Burdick Expressway.The reconstruction will include new concrete pavement, improved drainage, widening with dedicated left turn lanes, improved shared use paths, new LED lighting and a new traffic signal at 11th Avenue.

Meyer said the city also still is waiting to hear about federal funds for the Edison Safe Routes to School sidewalk program. The project is scheduled to be bid in March, pending the release of funds held up by the executive order.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today