The Altoona Water Authority has awarded a contract to Guyer Bros. for the replacement of 500 feet of 12-inch waterline along 16th Avenue between 14th and 15th streets, after a waterline break in that area seriously damaged the avenue.

The award was in keeping with a prior authorization by the board to replace the line and then to rebuild the avenue on that block, with costs up to a total of $250,000, based on preliminary estimates.

Guyer Bros., selected based on the state’s COSTARS cooperative purchasing program, will begin the line replacement Monday, according to authority General Manager Mark Perry.

Guyer Bros. is charging $132,000, with the authority responsible for obtaining materials, Perry said.

Materials are estimated to cost $66,000, he said.

Street reconstruction is estimated to cost $45,000.

Grannas Bros. is under contract to do that work, Perry said.

The main break around the beginning of April “buckled (the avenue) pretty good,” Perry said.

The existing line, which was repaired quickly after the break, was thin wall cast iron and was at risk of further failure, including when the avenue would have been rebuilt, so that it made sense to replace it, Perry said.

The new line will also be 12 inch.

The work should be done in a month and a half, Perry estimated.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.