A new Manatee Avenue water main could be pumping water soon enough.
Manatee County senior project engineer Jim Shuler told The Islander April 6 that Loxahatchee-based DBE Management was on track to complete installation of the subaqueous pipeline by July.
The main will replace a temporary pipeline that spans the west half of the Anna Maria Island Bridge’s southern sidewalk.
Work on the new pipeline began last December and, so far, the contractor has tunneled beneath Anna Maria Sound and pulled the pipeline through, according to Shuler.
Now, DBE will work to extend the water main — which runs along the north side of Manatee Avenue — west across the Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave., Holmes Beach, so it can be tied into existing utilities.
That work will result in the boat ramp’s closure from 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, to 7 a.m. Saturday, April 18.
Shuler said work would continue at the boat ramp following the closure, but the contractor would work segment by segment and close only the necessary area.
He added that the work was not expected to impact the Australian pine trees — including an osprey nest at the east side of the ramps —despite the trees’ wide and shallow root systems and their proximity to construction. However, plans call for the removal of a couple of cabbage palms.
After work on the pipeline is finished, it will be tested and tied into existing utilities, at which point the temporary main will be removed from the bridge.