Tennessee City Starts Sewer Rehab Project
Beginning May 4, Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department (MWSD) will begin reconstruction of a sewer main under Vine Street from Maney to Bilbro avenues, according to the Murfreesboro Post.
Weather permitting, the project is expected to continue for three to four months, MWSD engineer Valerie Smith said. Crews will start at Maney Avenue and work east to Bilbro one block at about three weeks per block. Residents in the immediate construction area or block will continue to have access to their homes, the release states. Construction will occur one block at a time but traffic flow will be maintained through the remaining blocks. No formal detours are planned because of the grid nature of the area, Murfreesboro Traffic Engineer Ram Balachandran said. Drivers will be able to tell how to get around the intersection.
When construction is complete, the street will be paved. MWSD continues to rehabilitate and repair the Murfreesboro sewer system, the release states. “We have two methods of accomplishing this rehabilitation,” MWSD Engineer Valerie Smith said. “The first is a bi-annual rehabilitation contract with Insituform Technologies, whose services include a trenchless method of repairing the existing pipe from the inside out.” “The Vine Street rehabilitation will be completed by the second method,” she continued. “Crews from our Operations and Maintenance Division actually dig up the old line and replace it with new.”
During the summer months, she said, in addition to Vine Street, the other streets within the area will be rehabilitated by Insituform Technologies. The company’s less invasive process results in minimal excavation, which helps minimize the inconvenience to residents and, because no road closures are required, those driving through the area. “Workers will attempt to knock on doors and notify residents in person,” Smith said. “If residents are not home, a door hanger will be placed at the front entrance outlining the entire process and how it may affect them.
“Periodic disruption of a resident’s sewer service will be between two and 10 hours,” she said. “The sewer line between the main sewer line in the street and the cleanout connection at the property line, will be repaired by the same method as the sewer main, whether it was trenchless or by the dig and replace method.” If any digging is required when the cleanout at the property line is replaced, she said, the disturbed area will be allowed to settle for up to two weeks.
Once that has occurred, top soil, grass seed and a straw covering will be applied. “Workers will check back in several weeks to make sure that grass is growing,” Smith said. “In all, the entire project should be finished in 120 days with minimal disruption to customers.”
Questions about the Vine Street work may be directed to Terry Taylor, MWSD Operations and Maintenance Department, 848-3218, she said. “Call me at 848-3200 if you have questions about the remaining areas,” Smith said. “For more information on the technique used by Insituform, please visit the company’s website at www.insituform.com.
