Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
Monday night a local business told The Dalles City Council they were losing money due to construction that blocked Webber Street and last night the council responded in an unusual Thursday night meeting.
The business was Bargeway Pub & Catering on the waterfront, and several people testified Monday that the recent closure of Webber street, the easiest route to the pub, had caused a 60 percent drop in revenue. That’s because without Webber Street, people wanting to visit Bargeway would have to either use the Union Street underpass to reach First Street and head west for 2.3 miles or go all the way out west to the “fish overpass” and come back east on River Road for 3 and a quarter miles.
Following a lengthy executive session, councilors returned to open session and City Administrator Matthew Klebes outline five options available.
“The first option was to make no changes to the project and its schedule. The second option was to reopen the Webber Street crossing for this weekend only. The third option was to expedite project completion, the fourth was to evaluate phased utility installation to allow for flagging, and the fifth was to deploy additional signage to better communicate with the community the detour routes due to the Webber Street closure.”
The first option, to do nothing, would not change the cost of the project or the schedule, which originally called for completion by Sunday, July 5.The second option, to reopen Webber street crossjng for this weekend only, would add four days and $18,000 to the cost of the project, with a closing date of May 9. The third option, which would require Crestline, the contractor on the project, to have crews working seven days a week, would actually shorten the project by 9 days, at an added cost of $118,000. The fourth option, working the schedule to allow at least one lane of Webber to be open with flaggers the whole duration would add 50 days to the project art a cost of $504,820. The fifth option, renting additional signs showing alternate routes to the business, would not add any days to the project but would add $28,000 to the cost.
Ultimately, the council voted for option three, requiring contractors to work 7 days a week at a cost of $118,000. Councilors gave two reasons. First, that the original project bid was far enough under the engineer’s estimate that there were sufficient funds left to pay the $118,000, and second, by working on weekends, the project would be finished in June, well before the heavy traffic expected over the Fourth of July.