Portage officials can authorize repair work to begin on a stretch of walkway in the Portage Riverwalk and Lakefront Park as early as Monday after an emergency declaration from the Board of Public Works.
Much of an 85-foot section of the walkway forming the west side of the Burns Waterway has caved in over the past three years, but the damage has increased more rapidly with recent storms and the boaters’ wakes, said Portage Parks Superintendent Jenny Orsburn.
“This last year is when we saw the biggest impact from all of that,” she said. “It’s dangerous.”
“It’s hard to even walk or traverse down there,” said Todd Kleven, vice president of Diamond Peak, a construction management firm that city has used.
City officials have cordoned off part of the crumbling section, allowing walkers to bypass the damage using a grassy area near the path, but the whole section will need to be roped off when the roughly two-week repair project begins, Kleven said.
Once the city gave the section emergency status, it freed officials and Diamond Peak to contact two contractors they know can get the work done, because the work is expected to cost less than $150,000, Orsburn said.
The city’s Redevelopment Commission has set aside $85,000 to pay for the repair.
The emergency declaration and the repair amount free the city from going traditional bidding procedures that can take significantly more time.
Kleven said the city will determine the best means for shipping in material to shore up the section, either using barges along the waterway or ground vehicles to get material to the site. The material will shore up the bank after the asphalt and remaining underlying material has been removed.
With the emergency declaration, the city and Diamond Peak should have bids back from the two contractors within seven days, and work should begin soon after that, Kleven said.
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Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.