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Road commissioner warns Rutland Town of failing South End sewer line, proposes open-cut fix and push to state
Summary
Road Commissioner Dave Sears reported that a South End sewer run is blocked and structurally weak, and said the town is considering installing a new manhole and rerouting the line rather than relying on repeated directional bores that have failed on similar projects.
Road Commissioner Dave Sears told the selectboard the town's South End sewer line is failing at an existing culvert/manhole run and described steps the town is weighing to restore service while managing cost and maintenance burdens.
Sears described an on-site inspection that found solids and low flow in a manhole near the Sports Clips/Taco Bell corridor. Contractors attempted cleaning and cutting operations but encountered obstructions; Sears said the engineering concept now favored would install a new manhole nearer the road and run a new directional drill across to a manhole behind Taco Bell to abandon the problematic stretch that is prone to blockage.
Sears and the board discussed the limits of directional boring in the site's soils and grade, and the Vermont agency guidance that can require multiple failed bore attempts before approving an open cut. Sears said that requirement carries substantial risk and cost: "you gotta figure that's a, you know, $6,070,000 dollar proposition each time to fail," he said, arguing the town should press VTrans or the relevant state reviewer for flexibility and to avoid multiple failed bores that leave unused sleeves in the ground.
Operationally the town will flush and maintain the line to keep service stable while a design is finalized. Sears said crews would place a 500-gallon tank of water to flush solids and that longer-term fixes will require detailed drawings and a bid process. He said the design firm has provided concepts and the town will bring plans to the state and to Otter Creek for final engineering and funding decisions.
Board members asked about alternatives including a force main and pump station; Sears said a force main would carry high maintenance and installation costs, citing a pump station estimate on the order of $300,000 plus associated mains.
Sears asked the board to mark this a top priority and to press Otter Creek and the town's engineer to finalize specifications so the work can move to bid. He said sewer-cleaning and inspection bids will be opened next week and that paving bids are also underway.
