Federal funding boosts two Portage projects

Federal funding for two major projects here will help traffic and sewage flow better.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan and Mayor Sue Lynch announced a $2.36 million grant for phase 3 of the Central Avenue West reconstruction project and $1.1 million for the second phase of a sanitary sewer interceptor project.

Both projects have been in the works for years but were stalled because of financial issues. The federal share of each project is 75%.

Lynch praised Mrvan for helping the city get the money. “She’s making it sound like I had an option,” Mrvan quipped.

Getting money for Portage meant competing with 434 other members of the House of Representatives. “You go before Appropriations, and you fight for these projects,” Mrvan pointed out.

The work will bring businesses to the city and lessen flooding in basements. “That’s what makes it easy to fight for these projects,” he said. “These types of projects are worth fighting for.”

The projects foster economic development, improve safety, create progress and move the city forward, Mrvan said.

“It will bring jobs to our city, and it will bring better quality of life to our city” Lynch said.

Michael Stephens, associate superintendent of Portage Township Schools, noted two schools – Willowcreek Middle School and Aylesworth Elementary School – are on the stretch of Central Avenue affected by the road improvement project.

The project includes an eight-foot-wide path along Central Avenue and an extra lane to load and unload buses in front of the schools.

Porter County is replacing the bridge over Willow Creek as part of the project.

Also included will be significant improvements at the intersections at Swanson and Willowdale.

Work this year will focus on the stretch between Willowcreek and Brandt Street. Next year, the plan is to move to the farthest west section, between Brandt and County Line.

The intersection of Central and County Line Road was completed about 10 years ago, but the rest of the project, between Willowcreek and County Line roads, has languished until now.

The sewer interceptor project is a similar story.

“We did work on a stretch of the pipe last year, but we ran out of money,” Lynch said. The interceptor pipe stretches from U.S. 6 to the wastewater treatment plant.

That sewer line carries about 3 million gallons of wastewater daily, treatment plant Superintendent Tracie Marshall said. That’s about 75% of the city’s wastewater, said Andrew Robarge, project manager with Commonwealth Engineers.

Once it’s done, the pipe should be good for more than 50 years, he said.

The interceptor project includes relining the concrete pipe, 30 inches to 36 inches in diameter, with an enormous fabric sock treated with resin, Robarge explained. Steam is introduced to the pipe, expanding the fabric to stick to the inside of the pipe. When it cures, leaky joints are eliminated.

Water leaking into the pipe can cause unnecessary strain on the treatment plant. Wastewater leaking out could get into Willow Creek and people’s yards, said Dan Komenda, the city’s chief of field services.

The last time the pipe was carefully inspected, about a decade ago, “they could actually see the wire in the concrete pipe,” Komenda said. That section was relined.

Last year, the city dealt with the section where the giant pipe dips under Willow Creek. The wastewater has to be siphoned into the higher section of pipe on the other side of the creek to get the wastewater flowing properly.

A large poster discussing the project at City Hall on Wednesday showed a sinkhole in the woods near the interceptor pipe. That’s a sign of trouble with the pipe and adds urgency to getting the relining project done.

“I think you can see how vital these projects are,” Lynch said. “When businesses come here, they want to know that the bottom part of our city is well maintained.”

“This just moves Portage forward a little bit more,” City Council President Deb Podgorski said. “This is going to be wonderful for that end of town.”

Lynch said she’s hoping for additional federal funding. “We’re going to keep bugging our congressman,” she said.

Marshall said she’s hopeful for additional funding for the treatment plant, including adding solar panels to reduce the plant’s electric bills – about $44,000 a month – by about 30%. She expects to hear on that grant request in June or July.