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A project to improve the Cully neighborhood is in the works.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday authorized use of a competitive solicitation process to secure a contractor for the Cully Public Works Improvement Project. It’s a collaborative effort between the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), the Portland Water Bureau, and Portland Parks and Recreation (urban forestry).

In 2016, PBOT applied for a Metro grant to help pay for design and construction of the NE 72nd Avenue Killingsworth to Sandy project. In 2019, the city council accepted a $2.2 million grant.

PBOT, BES, the Portland Water Bureau, and Portland Parks and Recreation have collaborated on another infrastructure upgrade project in the area: the Cully Neighborhood Street Improvement Project. Due to similar scopes of work, the NE 72nd Avenue project and Cully Neighborhood Street Improvement Project have been bundled into a single package for procurement and construction.

The Cully Public Works Improvement Project includes improvements to more than three miles of local streets. Five gravel streets will be paved, sidewalks/multiuse paths will be added to six streets, 7,250 lineal feet of aging water mains will be replaced, 17 new sedimentation maintenance holes will be installed, 24 new sumps will be added, 60 new inlets will be created, 1,830 lineal feet of storm pipe will be installed, and work involving trees will result in a net gain of at least 37 trees.

The total project cost is $19.7 million. It will be paid for by BES, PBOT and the water bureau, PBOT capital project manager David Backes said during the meeting.

Project design is scheduled to wrap up next winter. Bids for construction are expected to be solicited early next year, with work likely to begin in that spring or summer.