MONUMENT • After two community meetings and a change in phases for the project, the water main replacement and road reconstruction of Raspberry Lane is scheduled to begin this month.

Monument Director of Public Works Tom Tharnish said before the new year the process of replacing the water main and reconstructing Raspberry Lane was going to be a large project and would require community input and education when he brought it to the board of trustees.

After one community meeting was held in April, and another in June, the project was separated into four phases, so the impact to residents of Raspberry Lane would be minimal .

Surveying was underway this month and according to the timeline, work for the first phase of the project was to begin in July as well.

James Adams, the engineer for the project, who works for Forsgren Associates Inc., said

Raspberry Lane residents understand the need for the project. He said there is “alligator cracking” throughout the present roadway and frequent water main breaks therein, which is the reason for the project.

The work involves demolition of the existing roadway, curb and gutter and the replacement of the entire water main. In addition, service connections to each residence are going to be replaced as well as the respective isolation valves. The roadway subgrade would then be recompacted and reconditioned before a new asphalt pad is constructed and the reconstruction of

the curb and gutter and the replacement of storm drains are done.

“We understand this is going to be a big project for the neighborhood and it’s going to be pretty inconvenient at times and a big disturbance to the neighborhood,” Adams said. “We know there are going to be some issues that come up throughout the project. Please bear with us as we deal with those issues.

“Everyone involved is committed to getting this project done as smoothly as possible.”

The first phase of the work will involve a water line connection to North Monument Lake Road, which intersects Raspberry Lane to the east and west. Phase Two will be the water main replacement throughout the entire loop of the road.

The third phase will be the replacement of the service connections to the individual residences once the main has been tested and activated. Phase Four will be the reconstruction of the roadway.

In the interim, a temporary road surface will be constructed with limited, one-lane access. There may also be a need for temporary parking in designated areas along North Monument Lake Raod.

According to the plan’s timeline, construction was to begin this month, with substantial completion scheduled for October of this year. Final completion, involving clean-up and close-out of the project, is set from November.

Jay Swenson of Brighton-based Noraa Concrete Construction Corp., one of the contractors involved in the project, said during Phase Three the service connections should be able to be replaced with water service interruption in the morning, with service returning by the end of the day. Residents would be notified a couple days prior to when their respective properties would be without water.

“We think the phasing plan now will be more impactful to have not as much limited access and less disruption,” Swenson said. “We are going to meet that schedule or beat it.”

Tharnish said work on the project would be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in accordance with town ordinances. He said different set of residences on Raspberry Lane would be impacted each day as construction crews move the project along the roadway.

“We are kind of doing this the long way, but it’s a little more efficient way to do things,” Tharnish said.

Erica Romero, serving as the project manager for the Town of Monument, said any residents on Raspberry Lane who may need special accommodations due to physical challenges should email the town so it can plan on meeting them the best it can. She said notifications throughout the project would appear on the town’s website, townofmonument.org, on the town’s Nextdoor profile and its other social media profiles.

“I’ve been [with the town] 21 years and Raspberry Lane is by far where I’ve spent more time on water main breaks than any other part of town,” Tharnish said. “You are going to get a very exceptional product at the end of this.”

Tharnish also said any damages to parking areas or grass in any temporary parking designations necessitated by the project work will be repaired as part of the cleanup stages when construction is completed.