Town of Sunol Fire Suppression System Project

Construction Update

Railroad Crossings:
Our crews have encountered difficult ground conditions at the railroad crossings that have affected our schedule.  We will likely have to use a larger drill rig to break through the rocky ground.

Starting this week, we hope to begin crossing under the Alameda County Rail Road at the intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and West Foothill Road. The driving pit will be at the intersection of West Foothill Road and Kilkare.  If all proceeds well, the contractor will begin driving underneath the Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street in early to mid-October.

What to Expect:
* Crews will dig a deep pit on both sides of the railroad, and they will insert pipe from the driving pit at the intersection of West Foothill and Kilkare Road. The receiving pit will be near the Depot Parking lot.

* Kilkare Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic during daytime at the railroad crossing.  We appreciate your patience with the expected traffic delays in the area.

* Access through the area will be allowed at all times, but please prepare for delays.

* Crews might have to hand drill under the railroads to remove rocks - the equipment will generate some noise.

Bridge Crossings:
Crews will lay pipe across the bridges at Sinbad Creek on Bond Street towards the week of September 29th, and on Foothill Road the week of October 6, 2014.  Crews will bore through the abutments and hang pipe on the bridges.

Hydrant Installation:
The majority of the hydrants will have been installed at their marked locations by the end of September. There are a few hydrants on Main Street that will not be installed until after the jack and bore work is completed.  The hydrants should be available in November.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns. The 24-hour Answering Line: (866) 973-1476 or epowell@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org.

Thank you for your patience!

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression System Project

Construction Update- Sept. 4, 2014
Pipe main installation has been completed on Main St., Bond St., Foothill, and Kilkare Roads.  Additional digging will take place when the fire hydrants are installed.  What is next for this project?

Railroad Crossings
*During the week of September 8, we anticipate starting the jack and bore work underneath the Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street.  This crossing should be complete in approximately three weeks.
* The crossing underneath the Alameda County Railway at the intersection of Foothill Road, Kilkare Road and Main Street should begin at the end of September or early October.

What to Expect during Jack and Bore Work
* Crews will dig a deep pit on both sides of the railroad, and they will insert pipe from the driving pit near the Antique Store to the receiving pit in front of the Post Office Driveway.
* Main Street will be reduced to one-lane traffic at the railroad crossing. We appreciate your patience with the expected traffic delays in the area.
* Access to the Sunol Post Office will be open at all times.

Pleasanton Sunol Road
* Work on Tank Hill will continue as crews construct the foundations for the new tanks and construct new pipe connections up the hill.
* We will lay pipe cross Pleasanton Sunol Road during the evening of Thursday, September 5, starting at approximately 8:00 p.m. through 5:00 a.m. on Friday, September 6.  Traffic will be one-lane through this area during this time.

Bridge Crossings
Crews will lay pipe across the bridges at Sinbad Creek on Bond Street towards the end of September followed by the bridge on Foothill Road and Kilkare Road.

Hydrant Installation
Hydrants will be installed at the marked locations as the contractor’s schedule allows.

Construction Advisory: New Irvington Tunnel Irvington Portal

We wanted to inform you of some very important construction activity affecting the neighborhood at the Irvington Portal site off Mission Boulevard. 

Irvington Portal work August 27 – September 15: 
As part of the process of preparing the tunnel to be brought into service, we will need to provide additional tunnel ventilation to our construction crews at the Irvington Portal site. The equipment will begin mobilizing in the area on August 27, 2014, and work should be complete by September 15, 2014. The ventilation equipment, which includes a fan and generator, will operate 24 hours a day. Cooling air is needed for crews who are lining the tunnel with a cement mortar to prepare it for being put into service. The sound barrier walls will keep the noise to a minimum and the contractor will install additional noise reduction measures.

Disinfection Process starting October 2014: 
Starting the first week of October, we will begin the disinfection process to bring the New Irvington Tunnel into service. In order to disinfect the tunnel, crews will need to stage generators and lights for the 24 hour a day filling/disinfection. The set up will occur during day light hours. The filling/disinfection process will take 2-4 days to complete once it begins. The expected night time activities should be limited to three nights.

What Happens Next?
The New Irvington Tunnel is anticipated to be in service delivering water sometime in November. The above ground work and restoration will continue into early 2015. These include final installations and burial of the new portal facilities, construction of a new security bunker at the existing tunnel portal (on top of the hill), and site restoration work, planting and fencing. The remaining sound walls will be removed after the entire site is restored.

Project Background
The New Irvington Tunnel Project is part of the $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) to repair, replace, and upgrade our system’s aging pipelines, tunnels, and dams. The new 3.5 mile long tunnel will provide a seismically-designed connection between water supplies from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Alameda Watershed to Bay Area water distribution systems. Final construction is expected to be complete in 2015. 

Questions / Concerns?
We greatly appreciate your patience. Please call our 24-Hour Answer Line at 866-973-1476 or email mle@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org if you have any questions.
Follow us online at sfwater.org/sunolvalley

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Why we should all be excited about Cement Mortar Lining

The really big news from the team constructing the New Irvington Tunnel – a seismically designed crucial tunnel between Sunol Valley and Fremont and our 2.6 million Bay Area customers – is that installation of the cement mortar lining has begun!  Although this may seem like a good time to yawn, this is actually really exciting news! Here’s why.

It is one of the final stages of constructing a water tunnel before we bring it into service.  The New Irvington Tunnel is 95% complete, and we hope to bring the new tunnel into service this fall.  Now are you more excited?

First we excavated the tunnel from four different locations using road headers and drill and blast methods. Then we inserted steel pipe final liners into the 3.5 mile long tunnel. We welded the pipe together and injected grout in the space between the pipe and the tunnel to seal it off from groundwater intrusion along the entire 3.5 mile length. 

There is still work left to be done before water delivery can begin, but cement mortar lining application is a key step to prevent corrosion of the steel pipe and prepare it for water conveyance.  Our workers will use specialized equipment that sprays cement on the pipe’s interior and creates a very smooth surface.   

Mortar Lining being applied in the New Irvington Tunnel

Installation of the mortar lining should take about two months. After that we will complete the pipeline connections on both ends of the tunnel and install rounded dishhead caps on the end of the pipe. Then SFPUC Operation crews will disinfect the entire pipe, flush it and bring it into service by the end of October 2015.  Surface work and restoration will then take up the remaining months of the project. We anticipate being done in summer 2015.

So although the words “mortar lining installation” might not stop traffic, it is music to our ears! 

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project Update

Kilkare Road, here we come!

Construction has begun to improve the water distribution system and fire hydrants in the Town of Sunol. The project includes constructing two miles of new pipelines on County roads, installation of approximately 26 new fire hydrants, and replacing the existing water tanks that serve the Town of Sunol.

Here’s an update, hot off the presses as of August 8, 2014

• What we’ve completed to date: Construction Crews have installed new pipeline on Main Street, Bond Street, Foothill Road West and East of Kilkare Road, and at Sunol Glen School. Hydrant locations have also been staked in these areas as well.
• What’s next: Starting the week of August 11, 2014, our crews will next start pipeline installation on Kilkare Road, starting at the intersection with Foothill Road, and moving all the way up to the ‘600 block’ of Kilkare Road. Pipeline installation on Kilkare should be completed by Labor Day.
• Hydrant Installation: Hydrants will be installed at marked locations   during this time period as the contractor’s schedule allows. 

What will come after that? Construction Look-ahead for September 2014:

• Jack and Bore Crossing underneath Alameda County Railway at the intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and Foothill Road.
• Jack and Bore Crossing underneath Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street is scheduled to start at the end of September.

What to Expect during Construction:

- One-lane traffic through construction zones during work hours. This will  cause some delays, so please plan ahead.

- Work Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

- Limited Work on Saturdays for a small crew to install hydrants.

- Night work will be necessary during pipeline/tank shutdowns. We will minimize noise. 

- Access to private driveways and around streets will be available at all times.

Stay in Touch:

24-hour Answering Line:

(866) 973-1476

epowell@sfwater.org

blauppe@sfwater.org

Visit our blog sfwater.org/sunolvalley

Thank you so much for your patience and kind consideration during construction!

Construction Update: Town of Sunol Fire Suppression System Project

Construction has begun to improve the water distribution system and fire hydrants in the Town of Sunol. The project includes constructing two miles of new pipelines on County roads, installation of approximately 26 new fire hydrants, and replacing the existing water tanks that serve the Town of Sunol.

Two Important Construction Updates:  

1) There has been a shift in the project schedule. The pipeline installation on West Foothill Boulevard (west of Kilkare Road) has been moved up to the week of August 4th, and should be completed by August 13th. Please expect delays in the area (see map).

Upcoming work: Construction on Lower Kilkare Road from this intersection will begin shortly thereafter in mid-August. Finally, the jack and bore crossing underneath the Alameda County Railroad at the intersection of Main Street and Kilkare Road is expected to begin in mid-August as well.

2) Water Tank Shutdown. In order to begin work on tank hill, crews will be taking the water tanks that service the town out of service from 11 p.m. Monday, August 4, 2014 until 5:00 am. Tuesday August 5, 2014. SFPUC customers should not experience a loss in water service, however some residences might experience lower water pressure during this nighttime period. Water service should return to normal the morning of August 5, 2014. The shutdown has been scheduled at night to minimize inconvenience.

If you should have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us at our 24-hour hotline (866) 973-1476 or epowell@sfwater.org; blauppe@sfwater.org.

Thank you for your patience during construction!

California red-legged frog: Our Newly Famous Sunol Valley Resident

Just a few weeks ago, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation designating one of our local Sunol Valley animals -- the California red-legged frog -- as the official State Amphibian! Since getting an autograph is out of the question, we thought we’d offer you a reintroduction to our famous resident instead.

The California red-legged frog is the largest native frog in the state and was first made famous in Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. According to the National Wildlife Federation, true to its name, they have reddish coloring on the underside of their legs and belly. They dine on anything they can catch and fit into their mouths. Mostly insects, but the occasional amphibian or small mammal might also become dinner. Speaking of dinner, California red-legged frogs were once a popular dinner cuisine during the Gold Rush era.

Contra Costa and Alameda Counties contain the majority of known observations of California red-legged frogs in the San Francisco Bay Area (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2002). Today, their existence is threatened due to loss of habitat, particularly near urban communities and development. Thankfully, the 36,000 acres of Southern Alameda Creek Watershed lands owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has been protected and is a haven for our famous residents.

Our primary goal as watershed stewards is to protect existing populations, control non-native predators, and protect habitat for the red-legged frogs. As we make progress on our Water System Improvement Program in Sunol Valley, our Environmental Compliance teams work side by side with construction contractors to ensure our newly-designated Official State Amphibian is safe from harm.

Photos courtesy of Bill Stagnaro, Environmental Inspector
with the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project