Installation Of Utilities Closes Part Of Bowdish

Commuters who regularly use Bowdish Road should make alternate plans for the next month or so.

A 10-block stretch of Bowdish - from Second to 12th - will be closed to traffic at least until mid-August, maybe longer depending on the weather.

Construction crews are installing new sewer, water and natural gas lines under the arterial as part of the $1.8 million Twinview utility local improvement district.

“Normally, it wouldn’t take that long,” said Ross Kelley of the county engineer’s office. “But with all those new utilities going in, it’s going to be awhile.”

Bowdish is one of the main north-south links between Sprague Avenue and the thousands of homes in the south-central Valley.

Crews closed the road last week and began chewing up the asphalt near Second Avenue.

They suggest drivers use Pines or University as detours.

All the streets within the improvement district boundaries eventually will be torn up for the work. The entire project is expected to be finished in October.

The project area is bordered roughly by Pines, Bowdish, 16th and Second.

Pines shouldn’t be affected by the work, but 16th Avenue may be closed for awhile later in the project, Kelley said.

The Twinview district will extend sewer lines to nearly 350 homes and businesses.

It is part of the county’s six-year sewer service plan, which calls for extending sewers to 17 other neighborhoods west of Sullivan Road.

County officials understand the inconvenience of the work, Kelley said, especially to the homeowners who live within the project area.

He suggested people think of the construction as the storm before the calm.

“The good news is it won’t have to be torn up again for a long, long time,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo