Construction work in downtown Staples will reach Fourth Street this week, with the major north south road in Staples likely to be closed to most traffic for a few weeks.

Drivers should be looking for alternate north -south routes, which will include at least two intersections - Sixth and Eighth Streets - that are now gravel surfaces.

The first backhoe from Tom’s Backhoe Service on Wednesday was expected to be tearing up the Fourth Street intersection near the Sacred Heart Church and the Staples Post Office. By Friday evening the full block between Second and Third Avenues in Staples should be torn up to allow installation of new sanitary sewer and water lines.

Discussing progress Tuesday morning at the weekly progress meeting on the Old Highway 10 Turnback project, engineers and city officials said parts of the east end of the project now have returned to paved roadways, while new blocks to the west are being torn up.

While the Tuesday morning storm caused work to come to a halt, Tom Thompson, contractor and owner of the Tom’s Backhoe Service, said the day was being used to plan and prepare for drier weather.

The project is now in the downtown area and will be affecting more businesses each day. At least one, the Staples Laundromat, reportedly is closing down for a time due to the construction. Other businesses are arranging special parking areas and advising use of side or back doors for customers.

Temporary water services are in place along Fourth Street and for most businesses and homes along Second Avenue, the route of the former Highway 10. In the downtown area, plywood sheets will be used to provide temporary sidewalks in front of businesses.

Tom’s crews on Monday installed sanitary sewer lines and manholes in the Fifth Street intersection area, which was an especially tough portion of the project.

Progress reports included the following;

East end, Second Avenue from 9th to

12th streets N.E.

Anderson Brothers crews laid the first layer of asphalt Friday on three blocks of Second Avenue, plus one block long sections of 9th and 11th Streets N.E. Local traffic only is being advised on these streets, which serve businesses and private homes on the east end of the project. Doucette Landscaping has started work on retaining walls in this area, which could take two to three weeks to complete. Sidewalks will follow the retaining walls.

Second Avenue, 6th

to 9th streets

Tom’s crews have returned the block from 8th to 9th streets to a level sand surface, with the sub grade being hauled in. The Eighth Street intersection is gravel and open to north south traffic. Sixth to Eighth Street is still tore up.

Second Avenue, 5th

to 6th streets

Thompson said he expects the Sixth Street intersection to be open to north-south traffic by late this week. They will be finishing with the large storm sewer installation under Second Avenue this week .

Fourth Street, Third

to Second Ave.

This one block will be torn up this week and excavating for water and sewer lines started. The fourway stop sign intersection at Second Avenue will be open to traffic this weekend.

Second Avenue between 4th and 5th

streets

The backhoe crews will turn at the Second Avenue intersection and proceed east to Fifth Street next week before coming back to do the one block of Fourth Street from Second Avenue to new Highway 10, probably a week later.

West of Fourth Street

Work on the west half of the project, from Fourth to west of First Avenue, is not likely to begin for about two to three weeks.

Drivers will be allowed to use the one-way alley behind the Staples Post Office in both directions in coming weeks. The payment boxes located in that alley will also remain in use. When the project moves west of Fourth Street,the south end of the alley will be blocked of by the construction.

So far, no contaminated soils have been encountered. Thompson was relieved to not find contaminated soil in the Fifth Street intersection area this past week.