SANDPOINT — In addition to its many downtown projects this year, the city will be doing a maintenance and rehabilitation project on Ella Avenue.

The project area will span North Ella Avenue between Pine Street and the Litehouse production facility north of Chestnut Street, said Amanda Wilson, Sandpoint Public Works director, during Wednesday's City Council meeting.

"Essentially it is an overlay project that also includes stormwater management features and improvements to drainage," Wilson said. "It also includes some minor tree trimming to make intersections more visible and safer for pedestrians."

The overlay portion will include grading and paving, and there will also be upgrades to some of the curbs in the project area, which will include ADA accessible ramps on corners, Wilson said. The project does not include sidewalk improvements.

The city opened the bidding process for the project on April 3, with Woods Crushing and Hauling, Inc., coming back with the lowest bid at $461,539.75. The city recently received Local Strategic Initiatives grant of $546,732 for the project through the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council. The performance period for the grant is March through December of this year, Wilson said, and the anticipated construction schedule is from June to September.

City Council approved the bid from Woods Hauling and Crushing, and Wilson said after city staff meets with the company, there will be a public outreach process for those in the area who will be affected by the construction.

"Once we have a better sense of (the contractor's) process and what they are going to be performing and in which order, then we will go ahead and engage the public in that conversation and get their feedback and incorporate it into our traffic control plans and the overall performance of the work," Wilson said.

Council members also approved the award for the city's "cured-in-place-pipe" project to Planned and Engineered Construction, Inc., for $228,055.

CIPP is a "seamless, jointless, resin-impregnated felt liner," Wilson said, which is often referred to as "pipe in place." It takes the place of open-trench excavation with less impact to traffic, and is also about 25-percent less expensive, she said.

"The purpose of a project like this is to repair the existing wastewater pipes to fundamentally reduce the infiltration and inflow issues that we have," Wilson said, adding that it will reduce cost to the city by repairing the existing infrastructure.

The city has been doing CIPP projects since 2006, Wilson said. The scope of the 2018 project includes 5,400 linear feet sanitary sewer lines, with the anticipated construction schedule from mid-May through early June, Wilson said.

The project area includes portions of alleys and sections of the following streets:

- Main Street/Cedar Street from Alder to Fifth Avenue

- Alley lines between Spruce and Larch, west side of Division Avenue

- Superior from Boyer to Fourth Avenue

- Superior from Euclid to Fourth Avenue

- Cedar Street from Fifth to Second Avenue

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.