Many images signify summer, one of which is road construction. The orange barrels and flashing signs seem to be everywhere you are trying to go during the warmer months. To that end, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities wants to prepare folks for the large sewer repair project that is slated to take place the week after July 4th . The project will run along Highland Drive from 2100 South to Wilmington, with an additional segment from Sugarmont to Stringham Avenue.
“The sewer system runs down the middle of the road. There will be some impact associated with making left hand turns because we will have bypass up,” said Derek Velarde, project manager for Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. “For the most part this is a trench-less project. There will be some minor excavating that will occur, but we are not going in and ripping up the roadway.”
Work will be done on the weekends in an effort to reduce the impact on traffic and businesses that receive deliveries, etc. Velarde anticipates that the entire project should be completed in three weekends.
The existing pipe was originally installed in 1916, and this project is basically deferred maintenance that is overdue. “We have been waiting to see what was happening with the streetcar and everything else, and it has gotten to the point, where, with the condition of it, we have to go ahead and do it,” Velarde stated.
The approximate cost will be $100,000 and will extend the longevity of the sewer line and service to the area. “With this project, we are basically building a pipe within a pipe. We are accessing the manholes at specific locations and inserting a tube into it and then curing that pipe in place,” Velarde said.
The impact on the area that Velarde is most concerned about is the bypass pumping and the odor that may be associated with it. They do plan to use odor control techniques to mitigate the odors, but with a sewer project, some odors are to be expected.
More information and updates can be found on the Salt Lake Department of Public Utilities website.
