Sioux City to spend over $2 million replacing Pierce St water main

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A multi-million dollar construction project is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Sioux City.

The Sioux City Engineering Division will work to replace the century-old water main on Pierce Street. The project will cost more than $2.3 million and will take about four months to complete. Throughout the project, drivers will run into intermittent lane closures between 5th and 7th streets.

In recent years, the Pierce Street water main has been notorious for breaking and flooding area streets and surrounding businesses. Some flooding just since 2020 has cost the city more than $1 million in repairs.

“We have flooded out the Orpheum and the library three times in the last three years, the expenses that everybody has accrued, and inconveniences have been problematic so we’re getting this replaced,” said City Engineer Gordon Phair. “Although [the construction] is a major inconvenience, it has to be done in order to get this water main replaced; like I said, it’s 100 years old.”

Businesses on Pierce Street such as the Sioux City Library, Security National Bank and the Orpheum Theatre will remain open during construction.

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