Water connection for college finished

Frontiersman staff

PALMER — The city of Palmer is 9,800 feet closer to providing water to Mat-Su College and Trunk Road residents.

Scarsella Brothers, the contractor for the Trunk Road Realignment Project, made the last mainline water connection last month inside the Alaska Department of Transportation right-of-way.

Palmer had planned to construct this line sometime in the future, but with the help of Scarsella Brothers, Alaska Department of Transportation and city officials, Palmer was able to directly negotiate a contract to lay the water main line during construction of the road, saving about $1 million.

This portion of the project laid close to 10,000 feet of 18-inch water pipe to connect the University of Alaska Mat-Su College to the city’s water supply. Laying the pipe while constructing the new Trunk Road prevented additional construction in that area that was slated for 2011.

Future plans in the area include a 1 million-gallon water reservoir on college property that can supply the area with an emergency supply of water for about 12.5 days in the event there is a natural disaster or other unforeseen emergency.