Road blocked: East Monroe Street extension halted by squabble over dollars

The north half of that section of Monroe Street was annexed into the city, according to Public Works Director Gary Butts, and the city will own the improvements once they are completed.

That may take some time. On Monday morning, the street was an uneven dirt trail and no work was being done there. No machinery or workers were present.

The apartment complexis being built by the Summit Housing Group and managed by Highland Property Management, both based in Missoula, Mont.

At the June 2 Powell City Council meeting, Water/ Wastewater Superintendent Bill Winters said the developer and Sammons Excavation had discovered the street was not being built to city standards and had to be redone. The two parties were in dispute over who was responsible for the additional cost, Winters said.

Ty Sammons, the owner of Sammons Excavation, said he halted work on June 10 and pulled his equipment.

There was a discrepancy in the plans, Sammons said. The engineer that designed that job only called for a certain amount of structural fill under the street thats going in. I dont know if someone was trying to pull a fast one or they overlooked it.

The city inspected the job more than a month ago, he said, and ordered the amount of fill to be doubled. The city checks on projects throughout the development for compliance to city specifications, Butts said.

Another problem developed when an active clay tile drain was located under Monroe Street. It was not in his initial plans, Sammons said.

The tile drain had to be pulled up so a sewer main could be placed there, and then the drain had to be reinstalled. That turned a two-day job into a nine-day project.

It was a nightmare from that point on, Sammons said.

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Road blocked: East Monroe Street extension halted by squabble over dollars