Replacement of 100-Year-Old Pipes to Begin in May Along Coldwater

Just as the seems to be clearing up, thedetailed plans Wednesday night to replace 100-year-old pipes alongt and down Coldwater Canyon Avenue.

The audience at the Studio City Neighborhood Council meeting gathered at the CBS Radford Studios lot gave a collective groan when civil engineering associate John Hinton from the DWP laid out plans for the City Trunk Line South, Unit 5 construction that is supposed to begin on May 16 of this year, and last through May 7, 2015.

“It is 6,600 feet of welded pipe, remember that, and it will improve service throughout the San Fernando Valley,” Hinton said. “It will connect to what is currently under construction.”

(See a detailed map of the construction the photo gallery above.)

The first part of the 1.3-mile project of new 60-inch pipe is to begin along Coldwater Canyon Avenue from Ventura Boulevard to Avenida Del Sol Drive. Beginning May 16, that leg of the project is expected to continue through Nov. 2, 2012.

The pipe will then tunnel under Ventura Boulevard and past the Los Angeles River along Coldwater to Moorpark, the work lasting from Jan. 24, 2013, to Nov. 14, 2013.

The third phase goes from Coldwater, along Moorpark to Whitsett, connecting to the recently completed project that surrounded the Studio City Library. That work is to begin Nov. 15, 2013, and continue to May 7, 2015.

The fourth phase of the project involves pipe tunneling along Coldwater from Valleyheart Drive to Dickens Street, and will last from Jan. 15, 2013, to May 30, 2013.

 “This is all part of the 10-year Capital Improvement Program that is for replacing aging water infrastructure,” said DWP’s construction engineering supervisor Todd P. Le. “We are trying to make this the least disruptive as possible.”

The DWP representatives said Harvard-Westlake School may have some minor traffic disruption during the early phases of the project, and there will be a 1,360-foot open trench along Coldwater from May 16 to Dec. 8 of this year.

"We don't anticipate any impact from dropping off or picking up students at Harvard-Westlake," Le said.

Neighborhood Council member Lisa Sarkin said she was concerned about how long the roads would be closed, and asked about some solutions that neighbors offered to the DWP. 

 “There are some approvals of traffic plans and other permits that may delay the projects for one or two weeks, but otherwise we will be on schedule,” Hinton said.

Le confirmed that some of this construction will definitely go into the Christmas holiday period, unless the Neighborhood Council or residents object. Any work stoppage would only delay completion of the project, Le said.

"We wanted to start this project one-and-a-half years ago, but we had some permitting issues and got delayed," Le said. "We did not want to close Coldwater completely for any length of time because we thought the community wouldn't want that."

Le did have some good news to announce. "Starting on Monday, Whitsett Avenue will be four lanes again all the way through," he said. Some in the audience cheered.

The information line for the project is 213-367-0902. For emergencies, call 800-DIAL-DWP. For online information, go to: LADWP.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp013128.jsp

The assistant construction superintendent for the project is Roger Smith, at 213-798-5704.