The contractor received its initial right-of-way permit in August 2025 after initially telling the city the work could be completed in six weeks

Cade Barker
The Reflector Newspaper

What began as a roughly six-week utility project on 92nd Avenue has stretched into nearly a year, with a failed sewer inspection forcing the contractor to remove and replace much of the newly installed sewer line before the road can be fully restored.

Battle Ground City Engineer Ryan Jeynes said the work is connected to the Village at Cherry Grove, a residential subdivision planned along the northern portion of 92nd Avenue. The development was required to extend water and sewer utilities along the roadway to connect to existing city infrastructure.

The contractor received its initial right-of-way permit in August 2025 after initially telling the city the work could be completed in six weeks.

“Honestly, they haven’t, because now we’re here about a year later, and it’s still not done,” Jeynes said of the six-week time frame.

He added that after the initial right-of-way permit was issued, two more have been issued to allow the extension of work time on the roadway.

The delay became more significant after city inspectors reviewed video footage of the sewer installation.

When sewer lines are installed, city inspectors use a remote-controlled camera to examine the inside of the pipe. Among other things, the inspection looks for areas where the pipe may have settled or where joints between sections do not meet required standards.

“If that ball disappears under the water, you have a belly,” Jeynes said, explaining how inspectors can identify areas where a pipe has an improper depression. “Which means something is happening with the compaction. We can’t allow bellies in pipes because that’s where stuff will congregate and sit.”

The inspection of the 92nd Avenue sewer line found problems throughout the installation.

“When our inspectors saw the video for the sewer line, the entire length of sewer line in 92nd Avenue did not meet city and industry standards,” Jeynes said.

The problems involved gaps at pipe connections and potential bellies in the line. The contractor ultimately decided to remove and replace the pipe sections between manholes rather than attempt to repair the problems in place.

“They chose to dig up, remove, and put back in,” Jeynes said.

Jeynes said on Thursday, Aug. 13, the sewer repairs could be completed as soon as the following week, but that does not mean the roadway will immediately be ready for traffic or paving.

“That still needs to be inspected,” Battle Ground Communications Manager Alisha Smith said.

Once the physical work is complete, the city will conduct another round of inspections and testing, including additional video inspection of the sewer line. City staff also will review what are known as pre-pave as-builts, which verify the actual elevation and slope of the installed pipe.

The verification is intended to ensure the sewer has the proper grade to allow water and other material to flow through the system.

“Once all of those things are done, again, watching the videos, watching the tests, getting the test reports, verifying the as-builds, then they can go ahead and pave,” Jeynes said.

In preparation for that work, Jeynes said the contractor is expected to begin preparing portions of the roadway by building the gravel base and subgrade and installing road fabric and additional rock.

About 90% of the roadway affected by the project will return to a configuration similar to what was there before construction, including asphalt and roadside ditches.

The area in front of the Village at Cherry Grove development will be different. The development is proposed to include 180 townhomes, a park and play area, and several streets to be extended in the future.

“Where the project has frontage along (92nd Avenue), that will be improved on their side of the street, so the east side will have streetlights, landscaping, sidewalk, those types of things,” Jeynes said.

Those improvements are part of the city’s broader development requirements. When new development fronts an existing roadway that does not meet current city standards, the developer is generally responsible for making the required frontage improvements.

Smith said the city’s Non-Motorized Transportation Action Plan also identifies existing gaps in sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure. However, funding remains a major factor in addressing those gaps at the city level.

“It’s just a matter of what road projects do we have,” Smith said.

The Village at Cherry Grove is not expected to be the last development to affect 92nd Avenue.

Jeynes said the Lingle subdivision, located south of the Village at Cherry Grove, has been approved and is under construction. A commercial/industrial development is also planned near the city’s sanitary sewer pump station, while BG Commons is in the review and approval process.

Lingle, which Jeynes described as a couple-hundred-lot subdivision, will be required to make frontage improvements along its portion of 92nd Avenue. BG Commons also will have frontage requirements.

Those projects are likely to produce additional construction activity on 92nd Avenue, but Jeynes said future work should be less disruptive than the current project.

“They’ll see construction activity, but it won’t be as impactful as it is now in terms of tearing up the entire street,” he said.

Smith said the city will continue to provide information about traffic impacts associated with private development projects when right-of-way permits are issued, including whether a project has been approved for a full road closure or a single-lane closure.

However, because 92nd Avenue is part of a private development project, the city does not control the contractor’s day-to-day construction schedule or provide the same level of updates it can for city projects.

“We absolutely understand and appreciate the frustration that people see it’s just closed,” Smith said. “And unless we turn and be like, ‘hey, everybody’s out here saying this is still closed. What’s going on?’ we have to turn to someone else to get those answers as well.”

Smith said the city will assist with public outreach where it can, while ongoing updates about the private project remain the contractor’s responsibility.

“We’ll help with what we can see in terms of traffic impacts,” she said. “But those daily updates, that’s not something that we are in a position to provide just because it’s not our project.”

This report was first published by The Reflector Newspaper. Reporter Cade Barker can be reached at cade.barker@thereflector.com.