Preston Pipelines has been deemed the lowest bidder for a Mitchell Road sewer trunk line and lift station project.

The Milpitas company won the contract at $1.29 million over five other bidders.

The project involves the installation of 1,250 linear feet of 30-inch sewer main, 3,630 linear feet of 24-inch sewer main and completing the Barbours lift station. The work includes "abandoning" the sewer access that currently exists in the slow lane of southbound Mitchell Road next to Cruisers convenience store.

The city started the moving process two years ago "and now we're completing the moving process," said City Manager Toby Wells. "Our maintenance staff will now be able to maintain this lift station from the safety of being outside of the travel lanes rather than have to shut down the entire roadway."

Wells said the work will upgrade a system that is "significantly limited in capacity" and takes care of a bottleneck in flow from the east side of Ceres to the sewer facility on Morgan Road.

Earlier this year the city awarded a $1.9 million contract to Mozingo Construction for the construction of a sewer line down Service Road between Moffet Road and Mitchell Road. The line is intended to give relief to the heavily burdened sewer line in Don Pedro Road. It is part of a sewer master plan adopted by the city to reduce the chances for a sewer overflow.