Westminster City Council this week retained a law firm that specializes in construction defects to determine what is causing several roads to sag and settle in the northernmost stretches of the city.
The council on Monday voted unanimously to ink a $250,000 contract with Denver-based Mill Construction Law LLC to examine nearly a mile and a half of sewer pipe that was buried under sections of North Huron Street, Orchard Parkway, and 134th and 136th avenues as part of the $16 million North Huron Interceptor Sewer Replacement Project.
The project commenced in the spring of 2020, and according to city engineer John Burke, problems began to manifest over the next couple of years.
“The asphalt surface started to settle so you had big dips in the road,” Burke told The Denver Post on Tuesday.
An 8-inch dip on Orchard Parkway in 2023 required a road closure and emergency repairs, he said.
According to a city memo accompanying the council’s meeting Monday, Westminster officials believe the sagging and settling “are being caused by inadequate compaction of the backfill during construction.” The problem becomes particularly acute after heavy rainstorms, Burke said, when the underground pipes settle as soil gives way.
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No raw sewage is leaking from the pipes, he said.
Depending on what Mill Construction Law finds, it could lead to a lawsuit against the contractor. A city spokesman wouldn’t disclose who the contractor is.
Principal John W. Mill has 20 years of experience in construction litigation and will charge Westminster $490 an hour, a rate the city said is “within the typical range for such services in the Denver area market.”