Three quarters of a mile of large, 11-foot sewer interceptor under 15 Mile road was found to be in imminent danger of collapse, according to Macomb County Public Works office.
This is a section of pipe immediately east of the sinkhole on 15 Mile Road that developed on Christmas Eve of 2016.
To keep that portion of sewer line that serves half a million Macomb residents from meeting the same fate as one that created a giant sinkhole less than a year ago, construction crews in Fraser are taking emergency measures.
The work is being done after an inspection led to new fears of an imminent collapse. According to the county officials, many cracks and leaks inside the pipe were discovered after that portion of the pipe was pumped dry and engineers were able to enter the pipe.
The pipe is owned and operated by the Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District (MIDD).
“We are doing this emergency work to prevent another section of sewer from collapsing and creating another sinkhole on 15 Mile Road,” said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller.
Here’s their plan to keep the interceptor stable.
Work began this week to install metal “ribs” inside the pipe. The ribs are considered a short-term measure until a new, permanent lining can be installed inside that stretch of the pipe.
The rib work is to be completed by the end of this week. The lining, using a fiberglass chemical polymer, will be installed later this summer.
On Monday, the MIDD drain board approved adding approximately $7 million in work to existing MIDD repair project, bringing the total cost of the project to $75 million.