Folsom to fix old storm drains along Bidwell St.

The city of Folsom is working to fix the old storm drain system along Bidwell Street in the Historic District. The city owns and maintains the system along Bidwell that collects runoff from portions of Riley Street, Comstock Drive, Wool Street and Decatur Street, as well as adjacent properties. The storm drain line is an 18-inch pipe running north to south, joining with a second 18-inch pipe at the intersection of Bidwell and Decatur, and connecting east, staff said. Most segments of the pipe are corrugated metal, staff said. During routine inspections in 2020, Public Works staff found that a section of line along Bidwell south of Wool Street had never been built, or corroded beyond repair over time. "Bidwell Street lacks a storm water drainage connection between its eastern and western halves, as the old pipe running alongside the southern edge of the road has completely corroded," staff announced in the request for proposals. "During rain events, accumulated runoff bubbles up out of a slotted manhole lid and into the adjacent unpaved roadside ditch," said Interim Public Works Director Marcus Yasutake in his report. Over the years, this has caused erosion along the edge of the pavement and carried sediment into the next downstream drain inlet at Decatur Street. The city received a full "Green Means Go" grant award in 2023. The $305,000 pays for the replacement of 500 feet drain line, manholes and curb and gutters along Wool Street to Decatur Street to prevent anymore erosion. After recently receiving only one bid by Central Valley Engineering & Asphalt for $284,000, staff determined there were issues with the new Virtual Bid platform that discouraged others from bidding. The City Council agreed to reject all bids and re-bid the project in September with another platform used successfully before. The deadline to spend the Green Means Go grant is Dec. 31, 2026, so there is little concern of not meeting the delivery deadline even with rebidding the project, staff noted.