Being of limited capacity to carry stormwater to its discharge point at the Brannan Park pump station, the 30-inch pipe does a poor job slurping up street flooding in the area of 30th Street Northeast.

So, on Monday evening the City entered into an $1.8 million contract with KLB Construction to build it a new, 42-inch storm line from I Street Northeast to the pump station.

KLB’s low bid of $1,649,376.05 plus Washington state sales tax, was the lowest among six responsive bids and about 18 percent below the engineer’s estimate. Staff performed reference checks and other verifications to determine the contractor met the responsible bidding criteria.

This project is a continuation of the 30th Street Northeast Area Flooding Phase 1A project, which in the summer of 2015 installed a new, 42-inch storm line along 30th Street Northeast from C Street Northeast to I Street Northeast. Work includes a joint utility trench within a private alleyway for Puget Sound Energy and Comcast work.

City staff expect construction to start next month and wrap up by December.

Additional project funding is available owing to the low bid. City Council granted a contract contingency increase of $80,607 for a total of $180,607 – 10 percent of the contract amount – in authorized contingency because of the potential risk of working close to the building and homes.