BANGOR – City public works officials are planning an expansive two-phase sewer overhaul on Bangor’s east side.

Slated to begin construction as early as September, the Hancock Street Area Sewer Separation Project will include portions of Hancock Street, Newbury Street, State Street, Parkview Avenue, Coombs Street, Garland Street, Palm Street, Chapin Park, Somerset Street, Forest Avenue, Elm Street and Grove Street.

It will replace combined sewer and storm water systems with a new one that separates the two wastes. New manholes and storm drains also will be created.

According to civil engineer Mark Ward, the city hopes to begin seeking bids by Monday for the project. He said, though the city’s estimate is high, the project could cost as much as $5 million and include more than 19,000 feet of pipe. The project will affect about 208 homes and buildings in the area.

“We hope the bids come in lower than our estimate,” he said. “This is one of the biggest sewer projects that I’ve worked on.” Ward also said he thinks the project may be one of the largest in Bangor’s history.

The need for the new system stems from sewage overflow in the Penobscot River. When there is a lot of sewage and a lot of storm water using the same drainage system, “some of the diluted sewage can overflow into the river” in a process called combined sewage overflow, Ward said.

Work is tentatively scheduled to begin on the $1 million to $1.2 million first phase of the project in early September. Construction crews would leave the project for the winter and return to the second phase in the spring, Ward said. The second phase could cost about $3.2 million.

He said construction crews would try to accommodate residents in the area by applying temporary pavement every day to razed roads.

Ward said he hopes to have the entire project finished by August 2003.

“We’re in the last phases of it,” Ward said of the 15-year-old project.