The Hermiston City Council approved an update of its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Monday night, which includes more than $20 million worth of projects over the next five years.
Since the council first adopted the plan in 2019, the city has completed 14 CIP projects, totaling $2.7 million. Those projects include replacing the 20-year-old computer system which controls the water systems operations, replacing an undersized sewer main which otherwise required staff to “bypass pump” sewage during peak events to avoid backing up into nearby homes, and repaving 11 blocks of Hermiston Avenue. Projects underway for completion in 2021 include replacing nearly a half-mile of water main from the 1920s and replacing a 40-year-old sewer lift station with a more efficient gravity sewer main.
The updated CIP will invest a total of $20.2 million in to maintaining and rehabilitating existing water, sewer, and street infrastructure now through 2026. Some of the more significant projects include:
- Replacing nearly 3 miles of aging water mains. There is approximately 91 miles of water main existing in the city’s system.
- Reconstructing four sewer lift stations which all are more than 40 years old and nearing system failures due to age and corrosion. There are 12 sewer lift stations and 78 miles of sewer main existing in the city’s system.
- Re-building North 1st Place between Hermiston and Elm avenues, which is nearing failure, at a cost of approximately $4.5 million. This will reconstruct approximately three quarters of a mile of roadway. There are approximately 79 miles of city-owned roadway in the city.
The city’s website has a page dedicated to the CIP projects and the status of each project.
