‘I’m amazed.’ Major sewer line project near UK is done more than a year ahead of schedule
When city officials announced the replacement of two miles of aging sewer pipe from Oliver Lewis Way to the intersection of Euclid and High streets, it warned citizens that it could take two years and would create lots of traffic back ups.
Charlie Martin, the director of water quality for the city of Lexington, was blunt in October 2019.
“It’s the most challenging project we have had to do,” Martin said at the time. “It will be hard.”
On Monday, Martin beamed as he stood on the sidewalk near the intersection of Euclid Avenue and High Street and Tates Creek Road.
On Friday, the last section of pipe of the two-mile project was completed — more than a year ahead of schedule. Crews started in February and were not expected to have the last section of pipe laid until January 2022.
“Here it is fall 2020 and we have the pipe work done,” Martin said. “I’m amazed. I would never have predicted this in a million years”
The two-mile sewer line replacement started at Oliver Lewis Way at South Broadway, down Bolivar Street, Winslow Street, Avenue of Champions and the length of Euclid Avenue to its intersection with High Street and Tates Creek Road.
What made the sewer replacement a logistical nightmare is where the 1934 clay pipe to be replaced was located —underneath some of the the busiest streets in Lexington. Crews had to dig underneath two key intersections —South Broadway and Limestone Street —to replace the pipe.
Martin credited Mac Construction, of Jeffersonville, Ind., the contractor, for its management of the project. Originally, the city predicted 12 feet of pipe would be replaced per day. Mac crews averaged 50 feet a day.
Coronavirus-related business shut-downs and the shift from in-person to online classes on the University of Kentucky campus in the spring also helped. With less traffic on the streets and on sidewalks, crews were able to work faster, Martin said.
Various roads and lanes throughout the two-mile stretch where crews worked were closed over the past eight months.
Some of those lane closures and detours will continue as the new sewer line is tested. Paving the entire two-mile stretch also still needs to be done.
When the two-mile stretch will be repaved will depend on when utility work by Columbia Gas and Kentucky American Water is done, Martin said. Martin said he knows Euclid Avenue businesses are struggling during the pandemic. The city hopes the paving will be done as soon as possible.
“I know this was difficult for businesses and residents in the area and we appreciate everyone’s patience during construction,” Martin said. “The environmental benefits of replacing this aging infrastructure are crucial and we’re happy to be able to say that the pipe work phase of the project was completed successfully and well ahead of schedule.”
The Euclid Avenue sewer line was old and overtaxed. An explosion of growth and new construction on UK’s campus in the Avenue of Champions and Euclid Avenue area meant more and more water was going into the old, clay sewer line.
The $10.9 million sewer trunk line replacement is part of the city’s $590 million sewer and stormwater upgrades required under a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Previous improvements included in the $590 million price tag include the construction of 10 wet weather storage tanks and the replacement of a sewer pipe on parts of Main Street and Midland Avenue, which took more than nine months to complete.
The city is roughly half way through the nearly 100 different projects it must complete by Dec. 31, 2026 as part of that EPA consent decree.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
