City At Work: Sewer Project Under Way

Residents who frequent Raymond Drive near Diehl and Ferry roads should expect some minor delays as a sewer project gets under way.

The work is scheduled take about six to eight weeks and will be done with as little impact on residents as possible, according to a city employee.

The city of Naperville’s Department of Public Utilities-Water is beginning work on a sanitary sewer and manhole rehabilitation project. Some of the prep work for the project began on Monday, but on May 16 the main construction project begins, said Tony Conn, the city’s waste water collection and pumping supervisor.

The sewer project will take place along Raymond Drive from Ferry Road south to McDowell Road.

The need for the project is due to a pipe that has developed ground water leaks and is deteriorating under Interstate 88 and Diehl Road, Conn said.

“We have to stop it before it turns into a serious problem,” he said.

The cost for the project is $753,746, Conn said.  The rehabilitated sewer is important to transferring wastewater from the city of Warrenville and the northwest portion of Naperville to a large wastewater pumping station located at River Road, according to a city of Naperville news release,.

Although the city of  has budgeted for the project, Conn said that Warrenville gets charged a percentage for all maintenance and work the city does for the sewer line. That percentage is determined by how much flow is sent to the city of Naperville.

Conn said that the construction work might cause some minor traffic delays, but the city will not allow any lanes to be closed more than an hour at a time. Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the work is not expected to interfere with rush hour.

Other than a few small pits that need to be dug, no roads need to be torn up to complete the sewer work, making the project more economical and less time consuming, Conn said.

“Because [of] where this pipe is laid, it is cheaper,” Conn said. “It’s going down 42 feet and could have been extremely expensive.”

The company doing the work, Kenny Construction, will be using a felt tube impregnated with resin, Conn said. That tube is inverted into the current sewer pipe and with steam and water it gets heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

The material cures and sets as new pipe within the old pipe. The new pipe can last from 50 to 100 years.

“Because we are dealing with the tollway, Diehl Road and environmental issues, we don’t have to do any digging,” he said.

The city has been lining pipes in this manner since 1992, Conn said. The project also includes spraying the manholes with an epoxy liner, so no digging is required to upgrade those, he said.

“It’s much more efficient,” he said. “We are not inconveniencing homeowners, not disturbing traffic. Not doing open build, not having to cut into the road. … It is tremendously cheaper and much more effective.”

Drivers passing the work site may notice a resin aroma, similar to the smell of glue, Conn said. Although it may smell, it is harmless.

For more information on the project, visit www.naperville.il.us/sanitarysewer.aspx.