OGDEN -- The city is poised to award a $1.4 million contract next week to a Willard company for the first phase of the Ogden River Restoration project, slated to begin later this month.
The contract will be finalized within the next several days, Justin Anderson, the city's engineer, said Friday.
Ormond Construction was the low bidder for the project and selected over four other firms, he said. Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Work on the first leg of the project, extending along the Ogden River from Washington Boulevard to Wall Avenue, is scheduled to take about a year to complete.
The aim of the project is to improve the river's water quality and aesthetics along the banks, Anderson said.
The initial phase of the restoration effort will greatly help the river, said George Benford, the city's public services director.
"It's a significant project for Ogden," he said. "Right now, (the section of the river targeted for restoration) is a conveyance for water and collects trash and debris. It's not what it should be."
One reason restoration work will start this month is because the river's natural flow is at its lowest ebb during winter months, Anderson said.
"It allows us to get equipment in there and do that work."
The city has obtained more than a dozen riparian easements for the first phase of the project, most of which belong to Ogden Riverfront Development, a company that has ties to California businessman Gadi Leshem, Anderson said.
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