(WWJ) -- It's been nearly five years since the Fraser sewer disaster, which left a massive sinkhole the size of a football field when a section of the interceptor sewer pipe collapsed on 15 Mile Road.
But now major progress is being made on a project to make sure something like that never happens again in Macomb County.
Public Works Commissioner Candace Miller says the county's $28 million project to prevent future sinkhole disasters is a step closer to reality.
Workers have now excavated to a depth of about 60 feet, allowing them to replace the final section of unreinforced concrete pipe on 15 Mile with glass fiber reinforced polymer pipe.
Crews were able to cut away a section of the 11-foot-diameter Macomb Interceptor sewer pipe, and workers have entered the pipe to start clearing debris and sediment, which officials say has accumulated during the past 10 to 15 years -- to a depth of more than two feet in some areas.
Clearing the debris and sediment will make way for the installation of the polymer pipe onto a 7,000-foot stretch of unreinforced concrete from the ITC Corridor to Fontana Drive, just west of Hayes Road, according to the county.
Eventually, crews will move further east toward Eberlein Drive in Fraser, where 1,300 lineal feet of 8-foot pipe will be spray-lined with a geo-polymer coating.
Miller says the work should not result in higher sewer fees for Macomb County Residents, thanks to money that has been set aside and because of a settlement reached in a lawsuit.
"We must invest in and maintain our underground infrastructure. It is critically important to our quality of life and protecting our environment. Can you imagine if we have a sinkhole under the ITC Corridor transmission towers, or a sinkhole beneath the Red Run Drain? It would be a disaster," Miller said. "When completed, this project will prevent the chances of that happening for many decades to come."
Work on the project is expected to be completed by the middle of 2022.
More information on the project can be found on the county's website.
