Tapani Inc. worker Chris Parks hops out of a partially built manhole at the La Center sewer pipeline construction site on Wednesday morning. The crew is building a sewer line that could someday lead to more commercial development at the west end of La Center. Photo Gallery
LA CENTER — A project that should lay the groundwork for new business in La Center is underway.
Tapani Inc. broke ground July 17 on a project to install a new pump station and sewer line east of Interstate 5, at the western end of the city. When completed, the pipeline will link the city’s wastewater treatment plant to the I-5 La Center junction.
The availability of sewer services should trigger commercial development closer to the freeway and to the stream of traffic en route to the 3-month-old Ilani Casino Resort, said land-use consultant Eric Eisemann.
“Before the casino was a reality, the city was looking for a way to open up the junction for development, but they didn’t have a sewer line there,” he said. “Developments will probably be more attracted to the area due to our neighbor to the west.”
Some businesses have already talked to city representatives, but nothing is set in stone.
“Development is hard to predict, but there are definitely some people hoping to build as soon as we get done with the sewer line,” Eisemann said.
Tapani, the Battle Ground-based general contractor, won the project with a $3.7 million bid. The remainder of the tribe’s largesse was spent on professional fees for engineers, attorneys and financiers, said Jeff Sarvis, director of La Center’s public works department. No city funds were spent on the project, he said.
“We have a considerable amount of staff time, but no out-of-pocket” expenses, Sarvis said.
Construction on the sewer line should be done by the fall, according to project manager Justin Massie.
He called the project a “straightforward job.”
“The only challenge will be keeping the public happy. There’s been a lot of construction activity on that road, but it should be fairly short-lived and providing good benefit,” he said.
Massie said he didn’t expect any detours to impact drivers.
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