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The project included installing larger gravity sewers between Mullen Road and 37th Avenue and a new force main from near Rainier Vista Park to Mullen. Final touches are expected to be completed as weather permits, said Dale Mix, city design and construction manager.
“We’re really close to having that project done,” Mix said. Sewer work wrapped up Thursday, with installation of the final connection at the Seventh-day Adventist Church near Mullen Road. “We should have it (Ruddell) open without disruptions before the end of the month.”
Next is waiting for dry weather to place reflective lane markers and a small amount of paving. Traffic sensors near the Mullen-Ruddell intersection also need to be installed.
The completed work means relief for motorists who use that stretch of Ruddell. Traffic through the area has been slow, particularly when trench work required trucks to park nearby to haul out the dirt, forcing one-way traffic through the construction zone.
Mix said he’s experienced wait times averaging about 10 minutes. He added that during construction, many drivers who previously used Ruddell moved to College Street, a road that had already seen its traffic increase with the closure of Carpenter Road. Most of the 5,300 linear feet of pipe replaced runs under the south lanes of Ruddell between 37th Avenue Southeast and the park entrance.
When work started on Ruddell this summer, the plan was to have the project complete by the end of October. Mix said the conversion of the new sewer connections proved complex, pushing back the finish date.
This isn’t the end of construction on Ruddell.
The city plans to spend $2 million next summer for new asphalt on the road between Pacific Avenue and Yelm Highway.
Nate Hulings: 360-754-5476
nhulings@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/outsideoly
