EPHRATA — The third phase of Ephrata’s road and water pipe replacement project is expected to start in April or May.

City Administrator Wes Crago reported about the potential timeline for the project during the last Ephrata City Council meeting.

The city council approved the $1.8 million project to replace pipes and fix roads in the southwest section of the city this year.

“It’s possible we’ll see some activity in April. It’s more likely they’ll start around the first of May,” he said. “Construction will be essentially one month ahead of everything we’ve seen to this point, so they may be wrapping up near mid to end of September.”

Councilmember Mark Wanke asked if A Street could be done first, so the construction wouldn’t interfere with school traffic.

“We’ll be hitting that at the pre-construction meeting,” Crago said. “That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at. Parkway is impacted a little bit by some of the work in that area, so it’s going to be a little tough not to impact the schools … The middle school will be the most affected.”

Public Works Director Bill Sangsterd said the section by the middle school is the easiest part of the project, so the contractor may start there.

Originally published March 5, 2010