Mandan remediation to kick into high gear 

GORDON WEIXEL, Bismarck Tribune 

Published Wednesday July 19, 2006

The dirt is going to fly in Mandan starting today as the remediation effort north of Main Street kicks into high gear.

At the same time, reconstruction of the south side of Main is under way as infrastructure for the parks and parking is being put into place.

The engineering firm of Leggette, Brashears and Graham is orchestrating the remediation effort and several contractors have been employed to construct the system which will draw diesel fuel from the contaminated ground.

LBG's Tim Kenyon said at Tuesday's city commission meeting that Earth Movers of Minot will begin trenching today on the lots left bare. Other contractors will come in to do underground boring, alleviating the need for some trenches.

"We've got a lot of contractors with a lot of guys going in a lot of directions," Kenyon said. "Starion is also starting work on their building. It's like a dance where everyone has got to get along together."

The south side extraction system is up and running, according to Kenyon. The methane gas head originally encountered has diminished and actual extraction of diesel fuel has begun. LBG is fine-tuning the system which has pulled out 200 gallons of diesel since last Saturday.

Kenyon told commissioners that LBG and the contractors will do everything they can to keep from upsetting downtown activities.

"But we're going to make some people angry. Someone is going to want to park in front of a business and won't be able to. Someone else will want to go down an alley and it will be blocked," Kenyon said. "Some folks are going to be angry, but we're going to do everything we can to avoid that."

Northern Improvement will be in charge of reconstruction of the north side. Once trenches are restored to grade, Northern will have 15 days to pour concrete and lay asphalt.

In other activity, the Mandan City Commission:

3 Approved a bond resolution for $870,000, the city's share of the Liberty Memorial Bridge project.

3 Awarded the contract for lowering the waste water treatment plan's outfall line to Minnesota-based Lametti & Sons for $1.46 million. This is part of the Mitzel Builders Lakewood project. The bid was $150,000 under the engineer's estimate.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)