Sewer line work delayed after City rejects bid

By Randy Bell

In March 2022, several lanes of Springridge Road had to be closed due to a collapsed sewer pipe. Crews worked to repair the pipe to keep sewage from backing up in nearby businesses. A 65-foot segment of pipe under Springridge at Broadway Street is in need of replacement.

A sewer line repair project which Clinton’s public works director calls “an adventure” can’t move into its final phase because the City wasn’t satisfied with a contractor’s bid. The Board of Aldermen at its January 3 meeting accepted Phillip Lilley’s recommendation to reject the bid to replace a 65-foot segment of collapsed pipe under Springridge Road at Broadway Street.

“It is currently still flowing well enough for us to go through the process of finding someone to fix it,” Lilley says. He says the City received only one bid for the work, and it was higher than expected, so the project is being readvertised in hopes of getting more bidders willing to do the repairs at a lower cost.

And the City wants the contractor to use a trenchless technique known as “pipe bursting,” in which a line is replaced from the inside instead of tearing up pavement, concrete and other infrastructure. That’s especially important because the collapsed pipe is under two lanes of southbound Springridge, one of Clinton’s busiest streets.

The problems with this sewer line date back to last March, when another segment of pipe collapsed causing significant traffic disruptions. Lilley is hoping this repair can be completed with an impact that’s “as minimal as possible.”