Emergency pipe collapse under I-70 prompts slip-lining repair; crews keep service flowing

Speaker 2, a sewer maintenance staff member, said crews discovered an emergency pipe failure under I-70 about two days before Christmas and immediately called engineering and a contractor to respond. "They vacuumed that out, did some investigating, and found out we have kind of a larger problem on our hands," Speaker 2 said.

The failure was located just north of the railroad, near I-70, and officials warned it could have affected the neighborhood up to Central Avenue and the businesses there if not addressed promptly. Speaker 3 described the cause: "The old ductile iron pipe, the gases from the sewer main has dissolved the pipe, and it's just got to the point where it collapsed," the speaker said.

To avoid shutting down the roadway or interrupting commuters and local utility service, the team chose a slip-lining repair. Speaker 2 explained that crews would "slip line the existing pipe that's failed with the new pipe that we fuse together on-site," inserting a smaller pipe through the existing line and pulling it into place. Speaker 3 added a plain-language description of the technique: "So slip lining is basically taking existing pipe as it's in the ground now. We're putting a smaller size pipe pulling it through that existing pipe."

The contractor She Dig It (SDI) was engaged to assist with the emergency work. Speaker 2 described SDI as an "excellent company" and said crews worked around the clock through the holiday to maintain uninterrupted service: "Everyone's had their utilities gone uninterrupted. Our crews have worked around the clock. She Dig It has worked around the clock, and everybody's come together to collaborate to keep the infrastructure performing."

Officials noted the local wastewater portion of the BPU bill funds infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. Speaker 1 said that those customer-funded resources, together with timely procurement and legal approvals within the Unified Government, enabled a rapid response. "If we didn't have the procurement pass, if we didn't have the legal pass... everybody in the whole organization had to be on the same page, which they did," Speaker 1 said.

As of the briefing, crews had stabilized the site and were implementing slip-lining to restore the main. No formal votes or policy actions were taken; the response was operational and managed by public-works staff and the contracted firm. Officials said they will continue monitoring the repair and the affected area and did not specify a final completion date.