DENVER -- Beginning Tuesday, Denver Water will be installing a 20-inch valve and making other improvements to the 24-inch conduit on the west side of Washington Park as part of water main rehabilitation.

The work will take place along Downing Street between Kentucky Avenue and Arkansas Avenue.

"This is part of out pipe rehabilitation program where we go into our cast iron water mains and are able to clean them out and do a cement mortar lining inside the pipe to restore the pipe to its original integrity. It helps maintain water quality and keeps the water flows going," said Stacy Chesney from Denver Water.

"We have pipes in our system that are as old as over a hundred years. The pipe that is under Downing Street was installed in 1924. We will be replacing the "T" section of the pipe, so where the water main and the side street come together," said Chesney.

One lane of traffic will be open in both directions on Downing Street, but turns at some intersections may be prohibited. Delays along the project’s length should be expected, but work is scheduled to take place outside of peak rush-hour times.

The work will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

"This is the type of work we do all the time. This pipe rehabilitation program has been going on for a number of years as a way to not pull out all the pipe in the system and replace it but a way to rehab mains that we can still use," said Chesney.

Over the next 10 years, Denver Water expects to spend more than $56 million on the citywide mortar repair project. Residents in the repair area should not notice any service changes, Denver Water said.

"We put people on bypass pipes so we can then do the work on the main pipes, so you will not experience any change in water quality. This project will refresh and enhance the life of the pipe, but people won't be drinking water that is any different than they have been," said Chesney.

The project is scheduled to be complete by the middle of October.