3:09 pm | Jul 28, 2009
Update: Sewer line work, delayed by soil contamination, resumes with new permits
Work has resumed on a sewer line project that will tunnel deep beneath the busy Seal Beach Boulevard/Lampson Avenue intersection, according to Seal Beach associate city engineer David Spitz.
Construction has been on hold since spring, when digging crews uncovered contaminated soil, Spitz said. Routine soil testing revealed contaminants — primarily hydrocarbons — were present in levels “slightly above” those allowed by county and state agencies, including the Air Quality Management District, he said. Work was stopped while mandated testing, worker safety planning and re-permitting took place.
Spitz said the primary concern was for health and safety of the people working in the soil, as the contamination was not considered a public health concern. “Environmental monitors are there and they have set up a safety perimeter around the site,” he said. With extra worker precautions in place, there are no plans or mandates to remove the contaminated soil.
The construction zone is in an area that was once a gas station, but there is “no official way of knowing” if the contaminants were related to the station, Spitz said.
The sewer line project will replace an old 15-inch sewer line with a new 18-inch line. The bulk of the work is expected to be complete within 30 days, with some smaller-scale work continuing for a few days after that, according to Spitz.
The new sewer line will run about 20 feet below the surface. Workers will tunnel under Seal Beach Boulevard and Lampson Avenue to complete the project without digging trenches across — and completely closing — the streets.
Previously at SBD: The action is below ground level at Seal Beach Blvd./Lampson Ave. corner
Photo: Workers operate a crane in one of the project’s deep trenches in March.
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