Work progressing on two retaining walls in the city

By SCOTT NILES Courier staff writer

May 09, 2008 11:57 pm

— OTTUMWA — Nearly a month ago, the retaining wall behind the Iowa School of Beauty collapsed, prompting city officials to look into another teetering wall. Now things are being done to ensure that both walls are secure.
ISB Owner Mark Oswald said he is working with different companies to try to build a new retaining wall up as quickly as possible. After the old wall was destroyed and hauled away, the roadway at top is creating a wash of dirt and mud that is pouring down into the beauty school’s parking lot.
The city has been working on repairing the roadway to stop erosion. Once the repairs are completed, Oswald said they have to wait until a utility pole and a phone pole can be moved before the new wall can be constructed.
He hopes to have all the work finished by mid-June.
“The end of this month would be ideal, but realistically I think it will be more like mid-June,” he said.
Oswald said the new structure is a six-foot retaining wall and will stand closer to the ISB building.
“It will have holes drilled in it for drainage in case of erosion,” he said.
Meanwhile, city officials continue to study another wall off the Third Street alley north of the Ottumwa Courier.
Ottumwa Public Works Director Larry Seals said the wall has been classified as unstable and dirt was placed against the wall for safety. Plans for that retaining wall are also in the works.
“After the other collapse, we started taking aerial shots of the Third Street wall and found it unsafe,” Seals said.
He said the wall was originally built on the back of the public works shop, which at one time was located there.
“We discussed several options with the wall and decided to put up a six-foot retaining wall in front of the other one and fill dirt in between to keep [the taller wall] stable,” he said.
Seals said they plan to start the first phase of the project within the next two weeks.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.