Big dig on Central Avenue causing further delays after a major sewage spill
A block of heavily traveled Central Avenue in Charlotte will remain closed days longer than expected as crews replace pipes and asphalt after a massive sewage spill into Little Sugar Creek earlier this month, officials said Friday.
An estimated 14,400 gallons spilled into the creek after a pipe failure, Charlotte Water spokesman Cam Coley told The Charlotte Observer on July 9. The creek is part of the Catawba River watershed.
By comparison, a family of four uses about 12,000 gallons of water a month for “bathing, cooking, washing, recreation and watering,” according to water industry estimates.
Charlotte Water found the leaking pipe when a customer of the utility called July 7 about a manhole on Central Avenue, officials posted on CLTWaterBlog.org.
“A rapid response crew was dispatched to investigate and found that the manhole needed a new top and interior cleaning due to grease build-up,” according to the blog post.
Leak was 17 feet underground
A day later, crews discovered that the pipe was leaking 17 feet below ground, and they had no choice but to close the road, Charlotte Water officials said.
The utility installed temporary pumps to keep the wastewater, err, flowing, and prevent a larger spill, according to the post.
Crews moved a drinking water pipe from near the work area to reduce water outages and installed two new valves to maintain water service to businesses
Crews began digging under the 1300 block of Central Avenue on Friday night, July 8.
‘Inconvenient’ yet ‘necessary’ detour
Detouring drivers “was necessary to finish the work as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible,” officials said in the blog. “We understand how inconvenient they are.”
Central Avenue drivers have been detoured onto Parkwood Avenue, while CATS officials alerted riders of bus routes 9 and 17 to delays.
“This is one of many areas in Charlotte that is growing,” according to the Charlotte Water post. “It is essential that CLTWater continues this work of maintaining and rehabilitation our critical infrastructure so it can support development in the city.”
On Friday, crews replaced a wastewater manhole because its brick construction had begun to break, Charlotte Water officials said.
What’s left to do
Workers this weekend were expected to replace storm water pipes, and replace and put back in service 20 feet of drinking water pipe
On Tuesday, crews plan to begin rebuilding the road by adding new soil and packing it down. Asphalt will then be replaced and the road repaved before the road is striped and reopened late Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Charlotte Water.
This story was originally published July 16, 2022 at 2:09 PM.