By Brandie Gay
In a significant move to improve the city’s infrastructure, the City of Vandalia has just completed a crucial project to replace a damaged 6-inch clay sewer line that ran under the railroad tracks on main street. This project is part of the ongoing efforts to improve the city’s infrastructure.
The city had contracted with Visu-Sewer to clean and inspect the city’s entire sewer system. It was during this time, that it was discovered a section of the sewer main, which ran under the railroad tracks, had shifted and collapsed. There was no way of knowing when, or for how long, this has been occurring, but once discovered, the city knew that it posed a significant risk as it could potentially cause the ground around the railroad tracks to wash out, which could result in the ground under the tracks to collapse. That collapse could result in a train derailing in the middle of town.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the city moved swiftly to address the problem. City Administrator Darren Berry contacted Poepping, Stone, Back & Associates, the same day that the problem was discovered. The city engineer came to town later in the afternoon and met with staff at the future job site and together they started to develop a game plan on how to address this problem. Engineering plans were developed for the project and approved within two weeks. The city put the project out for bid and ended up awarding the contract to T&B Trucking and Excavating.
The project consisted of milling and removing existing paving, removing all the old clay pipe and replacing it with 385-feet of 8-inch PVC sewer pipe, installing 80-feet of 24-inch casing under the railroad for the new pipe to run through, as well as installing two new manholes, hooking up all the customers to the new sewer line, back filling the trench and repairing Main Street with new concrete and asphalt overlay.
The project started the first part of July and was completed, other than the asphalt overlay, by the end of July. The cost of the project was more than $585,000. This price also includes the necessary permits and inspectors for the railroad. The project was funded by the American Rescue Plan funds that the city had received. No bonds or rate increases were necessary to finance this project.
City officials said they wanted to express their gratitude to the residents and business owners along Main Street for their patience and understanding during this process. They said the city is committed to maintaining the overall health and safety of the community and by addressing this infrastructure challenge head-on, they were able to demonstrate their dedication in helping Vandalia to be a better place to live and work.