Work resumes on Bullhook Drainage Project

Six years after a subterranean drainage ditch started collapsing in Havre, work is again underway to fix the drainage system.

"It is all about reliable infrastructure," Lakeside Excavation Inc. Owner-Estimator Tyler Smith said. "And it is about the public being able to travel safely on roads and not worry about channels caving in."

Havre Mayor Tim Solomon said this morning that it is good the work is resuming.

"This is very important," he said. "This is a big project and it is just disappointing that it has taken this long, but it protects the downtown areas."

The extent of deterioration of the system became evident in October 2013 when sections of street and sidewalk over the drainage began collapsing.

The Bullhook drainage starts at Saddle Butte southeast of Havre and runs into the city near Havre High School on the south edge of town and meanders through the city. A few spots still are open, but most of the drainage has been covered over by streets, letting bids buildings and dirt work over the last century.

After researching, planning, seeking funds and for nearly three years, the city contracted with Kinkaid Civil Construction out of Mesa, Arizona, for a $1,972,503 contract in August 2016.

The contract was paid through a $500,000 grant from the Treasure State Endowment Program, a loan and city funds.

When Kinkaid did not meet its deadline in December 2016, it sought an extension. The city went into negotiations with the company about the contract.

Work on the project was stalled during the negotiations.

The city entered arbitration with Kinkaid in the spring of 2018. In a council meeting in October, the council announced the arbitration came back in favor of the city, including the city receiving money for attorney fees.

The city awarded the contract to complete the work to Lakeside July 1.

During that City Council meeting, Solomon said Kinkaid's bonding company had not yet settled with the city, funds available will be used to do as much work as possible. He added that the city still has funds from the original project and will use those until the settlement with the bonding company is agreed on.

He said this morning that negotations still are ongoing with the bonding company.

Lakeside is completing the last two basic sections of the project that are left which are between Third and Fourth avenues, from Eighth to 10th streets, and between Second and Third streets from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.

Lakeside has 120 days to complete this portion of the project. The corporation is the general contractor and are responsible for all the work on the project, including placing sections of concrete culvert that are 88 inches wide and weigh 15,000 pounds each in the drainage.

"We are happy where it is going, and when you start working around old stuff there is always challenges and we are finding some of those challenges," Smith said. "We are trying to get timely answers out of the engineers so we can get done and move on."

Smith asked the public to be patient as the project is difficult work in a congested area.

"Let the people know to keep in mind we are working in the area, and I know it is an inconvenience to close a street down, but we do it for the safety of our personnel, and be patient," Smith said. "Soon, we will be done and there will be no open holes anywhere."