Downtown project delayed

Restrooms and street paving pushed back

MOSES LAKE — The downtown construction project is delayed due to utility issues and waiting for construction and delivery of restrooms.

Downtown is expected to reopen on Thanksgiving but is not expected to be completed, Project Engineer Richard A. Law said. The previous completion date was Dec.1 for the entire project. The new completion date is around early to mid-December.

Delays began early in the project, he said.

When replacing Third Avenue, water mains more than 50 years old caused problems, Law said. The water mains were old and had to be replaced.

Forty percent of Third Avenue is paved. The other 60 percent is expected to be paved sometime between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17.

Seventy-five percent of the sidewalks are completed, he added.

The restrooms for Sinkiuse Square are also delayed.

A company in Spokane was contracted to build the rest rooms.

"It is still under construction," he said.

The restrooms are five weeks late because the construction plans were not approved in time to deliver them by the deadline.

Construction of the restrooms is expected to be completed Dec. 7. They will be installed shortly after that date because they must be transported from Spokane, he said.

The construction crew may run into other obstacles as Moses Lake approaches winter.

"I'm keeping an eye on the forecast," Law said. "We should be able to get it done unless (weather) takes a turn for the worst."

If the winter is typical of past winters Moses Lake has experienced, there should be no problems, he added.

Law is working to organize paint stripers and permanent sign installers to coordinate with the completion date.