Broken sewer lines force street closings

March 8, 2008 at 12:35a.m.

A 110-year-old brick sewer line broke, causing the problems.

YOUNGSTOWN —¬†It will be a few more weeks before the city reopens a downtown street, closed because an old brick sewer line collapsed.

The 110-year-old, 36-inch sanitary and storm sewer line along South Phelps Street has been nothing but a headache for the city for months.

The line between West Federal and West Boardman streets, next to city hall, collapsed in late October.

The collapse was noticed when sanitary and storm water started backing up on to the street.

Because the line is so old, all the mortar on the bricks deteriorated, causing a larger crack when crews repaired the initial break by West Federal Street, said Charles Shasho, the city public works department’s deputy director.

It took about a month and about $170,000 to replace the 36-inch brick line with a 30-inch plastic line, he said.

During that time, that portion of South Phelps was closed as well as a small portion of West Federal, which forced vehicles on the latter street to go around the work area.

But the problems with the line weren’t over.

A little over a month ago, sewage started backing up at city hall, Shasho said.

That happened because the South Phelps brick line between West Boardman and Front streets also broke, he said.

A new plastic line is being installed on that stretch of South Phelps near WFMJ’s building, and it should take another two to three weeks for work to be done, Shasho said. Until then, the street is closed between West Boardman and Front streets, he said.

The cost of the repairs isn’t known, but it’s safe to say it will be in the six figures, Shasho said.

There’s still a big uncertainty with the line that goes to Front Street, he said.

“We’re going to make every attempt to avoid going to Front,” Shasho said. “It would be expensive” to replace.

Also, the city doesn’t want to close one of the busier downtown streets, he said.

The problems with the old pipe hasn’t affected surrounding buildings outside of the sewage backup at city hall, he said.

skolnick@vindy.com