Looking like a pipeline, large 42-in diameter pipe sections are waiting to be lowered 15 feet under Second Avenue in Staples. They will hopefully be providing drainage for much of the city for the next 100 years or so. (Staples World photo by Tom Crawford) Residents and businesses along the east end of old Highway 10 in Staples are probably smiling a little more this week.

The crew working on the Old Highway 10 Turnback project is temporarily finished with the first three block segment of their project and is picking up and moving west three blocks.

That means folks between Sixth and Ninth Streets will not be smiling as much as usual as they become accustomed to noise, vibration and temporary water service caused by the re-construction of Second Avenue in Staples.

Tom Thompson, owner of Tom’s Backhoe Service, told those attending the weekly progress meeting Tuesday, July 6, that his crews should have a level gravel surface restored to the roadway from 9th to 12th Streets N.E. by Friday.

Underground utility work on a three block long section of old Highway 10 has been finished (above) between 9th and 12th Streets in Staples. Tom’s Backhoe crews planned to have this stretch graveled and open to traffic this week while they move on to a three block stretch between 6th and 9th streets. Cement work and road surfacing will come later this summer for this area that includes SuperAmerica, Subway, Dairy Queen and Williams Floral. As of Tuesday, he said, his crew was finishing with the final storm sewer installation at the 9th Street and Second Avenue intersection. They would begin installing water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer from 9th to 6th Streets this week.

His machines would be moving on to the next three block segment, beginning Tuesday tearing up and picking up the concrete on old Highway 10 from 6th to 9th streets. “We should be able to remove a block a day,” he said.

At right, huge 42- inch diameter culverts are being buried deep in the ground under Second Avenue to allow water to drain 10 blocks, from Second Street to 12th Street. The houses behind the backhoe are in the 800 block of Second Avenue. (Staples World photos by Tom Crawford) The storm sewer at the east end of the project is 42 inch diameter concrete culvert. The size decreases as the project moves west. All the storm water from Second Street (Burger King intersection) will flow east under Second Avenue to the 11th Street intersection, where it will turn north and empty into the large retaining pond dug earlier in June when Tom’s crews first arrived. That pond will be used to handle runoff, with an overflow outlet to drain off to the east when heavier rainfalls are experienced.

Thompson reported he had restored a sand street to 9th and 11th streets, with the Assembly of God Church at 9th and Third Avenue now having access to its parking spaces on 9th Street, using a sand surface. Underground utility work on those streets has been completed

So far, no contaminated soils or water has been encountered in the project. Engineer Tim Houle said they expect to have issues when the project reaches the Fourth and Fifth Street intersections. Previous uses at several downtown locations included gasoline service stations.

The weekly progress report meetings are open to the public, with property owners or others urged to attend. They are at 10 a.m. every Monday morning in the new Staples City Hall.