Hendrickson/Holmes Sewer, Water, and Street Improvements

The design consisted of 23 blocks of water mains, 19 blocks of sewer mains, and 16 blocks of street reconstruction.

When Interstate Engineering became the City Engineer for Crosby in 2017, one of the priorities was to inventory the existing water and sewer infrastructure and to develop a planning report for the City Council to begin updating the aging infrastructure.

The city’s infrastructure is reaching the end of its design life and does not meet current design standards. The water mains in the project area consist of 4” cast iron and asbestos cement pipes, smaller in diameter than today’s standards and dating back to 1948 and 1960. According to the Public Works Department, the sewer mains were reported to be some of the worst in the City of Crosby. The mains in this area were broken, did not meet the minimum amount of cover, and did not meet the minimum slope standards. Another challenge the city faced was funding an infrastructure project of this size.

Interstate Engineering developed a scope for the utility upgrades and began designing the infrastructure upgrades. We designed the water and sewer mains to the current Ten States Standards. To provide some efficiency in the design, the new pavement sections utilized recycled base from the existing pavement and base course. Interstate Engineering worked with several funding sources, including the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program and the North Dakota Department of Water Resources (DWR). Based on the preliminary estimate, the project was eligible for up to $5.4 million of loan forgiveness through DWSRF and up to $780,000 through DWR.

The design and funding sources provided the City of Crosby with the first step in updating its aging infrastructure. The Planning Report included guidance and a path for the Public Works Department to begin managing the extensive assets that make up the water and sewer infrastructure.