Long-awaited improvements to utility lines and the safety of a street in Coupeville will take place next year.

The town council approved a work order on Dec. 9, initiating the replacement of water and sewer lines on Sixth Street — some of which are nearly a century old — and creating a lane for bicycles and pedestrians.

Construction dates are undetermined as of now. Joe Grogan, the town’s public works director, said at the meeting he is “hopeful” to complete the project in the spring of 2026.

“We’ll have a better idea when we go out and get timelines from the contractors,” he added.

A memorandum from Mayor Molly Hughes presented at the meeting described the project as a “large job,” which the town has spent years saving up for. The cost is expected not to exceed $148,444.

Specifically, an existing water main running from Perkins Street to Kinney Street will be replaced, along with an existing sewer main stretching from Gould Street to Kinney Street. A storm water catch basin, as well as necessary piping, will be added roughly 200 feet east of Gould Street.

Via email, Grogan added that the water line’s connections to “saddle taps,” or a valve, are failing. Further, what he described as the “undersized concrete sewer line” also has infiltration issues. Age is a factor in these replacements.

“The best I can deduct,” he said of the lines, “they were installed in 1929 and extended in the 1940s to a new well in Lions Park.”

A new pedestrian path is also set to be constructed along the south side of Sixth Street from Haller Street to Faris Street, necessitating modifications to preexisting roadside storm water ditches. Grogan added there is significant pedestrian traffic in that area coming from Pennington Loop because of the park and other services. The Town has received requests for a pedestrian lane such as this.

Homes with connections to these utility lines disturbed by the construction will be “re-established along the route,” the project description reads.

“We will request the contractor to minimize the outages caused by the replacement by completing the new lines adjacent to the main to be abandoned,” Grogan elaborated.