The Burlington Avenue watermain is a critical component of the City’s water delivery system, conveying treated water directly from the Water Treatment Plant into the distribution network and serving a significant portion of the community’s water demand. Due to its importance to system operations, reliability, and future growth, the Burlington watermain replacement was identified in the City’s Water Master Plan as a priority Phase 1 improvement project.

The existing watermain is approximately 100 years old and in some sections has experienced numerous breaks over its service life. Because the watermain is located beneath one of the City’s primary transportation corridors, repairs often require lane closures and traffic disruptions along Burlington Avenue, creating impacts to residents, businesses, commuters, and emergency response routes. As the infrastructure continues to age, the risk of future failures and associated service interruptions increases. Replacement of this aging watermain is intended to reduce the frequency of emergency repairs, improve system reliability, and minimize disruptions along this critical transportation corridor.

The Burlington watermain replacement was originally planned in coordination with the Burlington Cycle Track Project and was anticipated to be constructed in multiple phases corresponding to improvements along different portions of the corridor. As the cycle track project did not move forward, it became necessary to advance the watermain improvements as a standalone infrastructure project. This provided an opportunity to reevaluate the overall approach and combine what would have been multiple phases into a single comprehensive watermain replacement project, allowing the City to address the entire corridor as one coordinated improvement effort.

The project will involve abandonment of the existing 100-year old watermain, and installation of a new ductile iron watermain ranging in size from 24 inches to 16 inches. The new watermain will generally be constructed along the east side of Burlington Street from approximately 10th Avenue to 30th Avenue and will serve as a major component of the City's core water distribution network.

Due to the existing configuration of the water system, the project will also require multiple crossings of Burlington Avenue to reconnect watermains located on the opposite side of the corridor. In addition, new domestic water services and fire service connections will be installed or reconnected to maintain service to businesses, industries, and other properties currently served by the existing watermain. These crossings and service connections represent a significant component of the project and will require careful coordination with MoDOT, utility providers, businesses, and adjacent property owners throughout construction.

As part of the project, all sidewalks, driveways, and roadway surfaces impacted by construction activities will be restored. The project includes full replacement or restoration of disturbed public infrastructure located above or adjacent to the new watermain to return the corridor to its intended condition following completion of construction.

Construction is estimated to take 10 to 12 months.