DC Water is getting ready to make some noise at the Albemarle Street sewer project site

DC Water has placed sound-proofing materials around its Albemarle Street/Soapstone sewer work site.

So what’s it for? At some point soon, the contractors expanding and replacing a too-small manhole just east of Connecticut Avenue will be making a lot of noise. The work will involve drilling and pile driving.

That is actually more complicated than it may sound. This final phase of the Soapstone Valley sewer rehabilitation project was delayed months ago by the discovery of a six-foot storm drain directly beneath the manhole. The pipe has since been stabilized but its location made the construction planning more complicated.

“A lot of the design things that go into this have had to change 200% over the last six months,” said Jill West, a project manager with DC Water contractor Anchor Construction Corporation. She spoke at ANC 3F’s April 22nd meeting.

The cascading effects included changes to construction equipment and placement, which meant a street light over the site had to be turned off as a safety precaution. Pepco needed to be called in to cut the power, and West said what DC Water thought would be a simple request ultimately involved five different entities, causing further delay.

DC Water has not announced a date for the noise-producing work. DC Water’s Peter Tinubu told the ANC meeting that the project had a mid-June completion date, including the lining of the final sewer pipe segment in the Soapstone Valley. The prediction drew skepticism from two of the commissioners. DC Water’s initial timeline for the Albemarle Street work had a December 2024 end date.