West 7th Street Cast Iron Water Main Replacement

A pre-construction meeting was held in September 2025, but construction was delayed while the line was re-designed to be in a location along the north curb.

Another community meeting was held on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Water utility staff discussed the new water line alignment and traffic control plan.

The Transportation/Public Works and Park departments presented he modifications that will occur to the bike lane protectors along West 7th Street.

The Parks and Recreation Department explained that vegetation will not be in the modified medians because it is a safety concern related to the maintenance. 

Feb. 25 PowerPoint Presentation

October 12, 2026

The contractor plans to remobilize the traffic control measures on West 7th Street the week this week (week of Oct. 12, 2026), pending traffic control plan approval.  

Initial traffic control and water line work will be at the location of the Van Zandt construction, then expand to the full length of the project. 

Westbound traffic will be restricted to the inside lane between the railroad tracks and University Drive. The curbside lane will be closed. 

Projected schedule (weather permitting)

Week of Oct. 12: Remobilize and set traffic control 

Oct. 19-Nov. 4:  Complete the remaining work on water line, including pressure and bacteriological testing. Once all tests pass, the contractor will transfer customer connections to the new water main, coordinating with each business because this requires about a 15-minute water outage. 

Nov. 5 through February 2027: Repair or replace concrete, curbs, gutters sidewalks and driveways; install pavement markings, crosswalk striping and traffic markers. This includes modifications to bike lane separators on both sides of West 7th Street in areas outside the scope of the water line replacement.

May 22, 2026

• Contractor has completed tunneling under stormwater pipe at Norwood Street and has been laying pipe along the West 7th Street. Contractor is also installing new service lines for future connection to existing customers.
• Contractor will stop working and demobilize from June 6 to July 21 in order to have all lanes open during the FIFA World Cup.

March 6, 2026 Update

• The weather has delayed the start of actual construction. The contractor plans to begin staging materials at the site next week and begin construction the week of March 16.
• The contractor will have two crews working simultaneously. The first crew will start with open-cut construction at Carroll and West 7th streets. The second crew will start digging bore pits at Norwood and West 7th streets to tunnel underneath a large storm drain in Norwood Street.
• Concrete barriers will be placed to keep the workers and equipment safe. Construction materials will also be staged behind the barriers.

   

Feb. 26, 2026 Update

• Construction may start as soon as Monday, March 2, 2026. Traffic control devices will be placed before actual construction begins.

• Westbound traffic on West 7th Street is reduced to one lane.

• Businesses will always have access (may be from side street, alley or West 5th Street)

• There will be some sidewalk closures on north side of West 7th Street at various times during the project.

• There will be lane closures on Carroll, Foch, Currie and Norwood Streets for water line connections. This will restrict traffic to one lane in the northbound direction on these streets when these connections are made. The contractor will work on only one side street at a time.