Englewood board approves easements for $3.94M City Ditch project

The Englewood Water and Sewer Board unanimously approved temporary easements July 14 for Reach 2A of the City Ditch project, allowing construction access on St. Mary Catholic Church property and staging at Littleton Cemetery.

The board approved a temporary construction-access easement with St. Mary’s and a temporary construction-staging easement with the Littleton Cemetery Association. Agenda materials set the payment at $10 for each easement and recommended City Council approval. The meeting record confirms the board’s action, but the materials reviewed do not establish a separate council vote or ordinance. The board’s meeting record says the church agreement provides additional construction space where the ditch runs through the property and the cemetery agreement allows equipment and materials to be staged there.

The cemetery agreement calls for a temporary chain-link fence around the work area and grading afterward. The records reviewed do not specify traffic controls, road closures, work hours, truck routes or arrangements for church services, cemetery visits, funerals or burials.

Reach 2A runs from a manhole on St. Mary’s property north to Ridge Road. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026, with mobilization estimated for Aug. 24. The city estimates six to eight months of active construction in each pipe-installation area and says it and HEI Civil will communicate with nearby neighbors and minimize disruptions. Former ditch areas are to be restored with native grasses or sod, the city’s project description says.

The easements follow the City Council’s June 15 approval of a $3.94 million construction contract with Hudick Excavating Inc., doing business as HEI Civil. The council awarded the contract in a 6-0 vote for $3,943,456, with up to $394,346 in staff-managed contingency authority, bringing the total authorization to $4,337,802, the voting record shows.

Reach 2A is part of a broader effort to enclose the remaining open-channel portions of City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen Water Treatment Plant. City documents cite improved raw-water quality, increased capacity, year-round reliability, resilience and safety, and lower energy and operating costs as expected benefits. Reach 2B, from St. Mary’s toward the ditch’s crossing under Santa Fe near Linhart Lake, remains under design and coordination with Littleton. It is planned for fall 2027 after additional stormwater and floodway analysis, the July 14 board materials say.