GREAT FALLS — Work on water main crossings in Great Falls continues this week with crews working in both Meadowlark Park and Verde Park on the southwest side of town.
The City of Great Falls is working with TD&H Engineering on the project, which will make water distribution throughout the city more reliable.
TD&H president Wade DeBoo said this project is related to the barge that was sent into the river last year, but that it had a separate purpose.
“The purpose of that was to collect soils information deep under the riverbed to make sure that the contractors who are drilling right now are aware of what kind of soils they were going to be drilling through,” DeBoo said. “There are two large diameter pipelines being installed underneath the Missouri River and underneath the Sun River.”
The pipes are being installed using what is called “directional drilling methods.” Workers will start on either side of both rivers and eventually meet in the middle. Some roads near both parks where the work is currently taking place may be closed for short periods of time.
“There are two large diameter pipelines being installed underneath the Missouri River and underneath the Sun River,” explained DeBoo. “The contractor doing that is starting both sides and meeting up in the middle, and ultimately will assemble and pull in close to three-quarters of a mile of 24-inch diameter pipe underneath the Missouri River and about 1,500 feet of 20-inch diameter pipe under the Sun River.”
The current expectation is that the drilling will be completed by the end of the year, but that timeline could be impacted by the weather, especially as we move toward winter.
From October 2018:
