Emergency repairs needed for Crownhill

A corroding sanitary sewer pipe discovered after investigating a sinkhole in a Crownhill Avenue culvert has led Amherst officials to advocate for emergency repairs and relocation of the sanitary sewer main.

Mayor Mark Costilow said during a June 15 City Council Finance Committee meeting that the sanitary sewer pipe, located near Crownhill Cemetery, 848 Shadow Creek Trail in Amherst and runs through Beaver Creek, could devastate the road and burial sites if it collapses.

Upon removing a jam from the culvert, the bottom of the pipe was corroded and it dropped 19 inches from its original location.

The sinkhole was discovered on the northern side of the culvert and since has been filled with large limestone fragments to temporarily prevent further damage.

“There probably could be some small fixes that might prolong it, but it really has been fixed so many times,” Costilow said. “This needs to be a complete new construction.”

Council approved ordinances for further review during the meeting that, due to the project’s immediate nature, bypasses the need to go out for bidding, which would allow engineering to immediately begin and a contractor hired quicker.

Costilow said the city would do its due diligence to find an appropriate price for the project regardless, with Aaron Appell, project manager for Bramhall Engineering and Surveying Company, saying that the estimated cost would be around $300,000 for the new line, main relocation and a new guard rail for the road.

Without this bidding bypass, Costilow said the city wouldn’t be able to get to the project until the end of fall this year.

The project calls for the complete reconstruction of the pipe and the relocation of the sanitary sewer trunk main that rests underneath it, moving it further west to more solid ground, Appell said.

“This would allow, hopefully, for a smoother construction process as well,” he said.

Cones have been placed on Crownhill Avenue to keep vehicles off the sides of the street and maintaining one lane traffic.

Costilow said while the road appears in decent shape, the city is unsure how long the street will remain drivable.

“The next big storm is really what the unknown is going to be,” he said.

During construction, Costilow said the city already has plans for funerals to have admittance to and from the cemetery.