The city of Greenwich, CT has warned residents to plan for delays if they’re planning on driving near Bruce Park Avenue this week as they work on sewer repair and pipe replacement in the area, according to the local news source GreenwichTime.com. It’s unclear if the sewer is 40 years old, which is typically the age one needs replacing, but it’s very possible the delays could have been much worse (and longer) if they had utilized traditional methods of sewer repair replacement that involves complete excavation. Instead, reports indicate that this will be at least the second time the town uses trenchless sewer repair technology.
The work, which is set to begin at the end of November, will include almost 110 feet of temporary sewers, two temporary manholes, and a detour around the middle of the Bruce Park/Davis intersection, where most of the work will be done. The Sewer Division has said the pipe repairs are necessary to extend the life of critical lines in the area. In total, a 600-foot segment of the 39-inch sewer will be rehabilitated.
The town is also working on a bypass for the “significant portion” of waste water the system handles, according to the wastewater division manager for the town’s Department of Public Works (DPW), Richard Feminella. Once in place, a 24-hour testing period will be monitored before the bypass is expected to be in use.
“We have to make sure there are no bugs and no issues so we can proceed with the bypass and the work,” Feminella said. “We need to know if there’s anything we need to go back and address.”
One of the things they don’t expect to have much, if any, trouble with is the trenchless sewer repair technologies they’ll be using. These processes are still relatively unknown as 78% of Angie’s List poll respondents had never heard of them, but they’ve been around for over 10 years. The work being done will be very similar to what the DPW used in 2014 during the sewer rehabilitation project at Horseneck and Shore Road, which was quite successful.
The entire process is expected to take between five and six weeks.