OJAI : Sewer Project Will Force Street Closure

Two blocks of the downtown portion of Ojai Avenue will be closed this week while a 67-year-old sewer line is replaced, officials with the Ojai Valley Sanitation District said.

Traffic will be detoured around the Ojai Arcade and nearby shopping areas along Matilija Street starting today. Ojai Avenue will be closed between Montgomery and Ventura streets.

“That is probably the most heavily traveled intersection in town,” said Eric Oltmann, general manager of the district. “We’ve known that this has been coming for several years and have talked to the Chamber (of Commerce) several times.”

The project’s contractor, Dorfman Construction, has notified downtown merchants by mail of the road closure, Oltmann said.

The weeklong construction project is part of the district’s sewer replacement program, which started in August and is expected to be completed by June 30. The district is uprooting 55,000 feet of sewer line that has served Ojai since 1927.

“Right now, the project is 75% complete,” Oltmann said. “Virtually all the remaining work is in the residential areas.”

The sewer line runs through the center of town along Ojai Avenue from Foothill Road to Bryant Street, and in several directions to the north and south like “octopus tentacles,” Oltmann said.

The new sewer is costing the district $6.5 million. Ojai sewer users will pay an additional $5.96 per month for the next 20 years to pay for the system, while users in the unincorporated areas around Ojai will pay an extra $3.73 a month, Oltmann said.

“Sewers in our infrastructure have been neglected,” he said. “It’s a terribly expensive project.”