City begins Peachtree Corridor Sewer Project – Phase I

September 21, 2005 – Commissioner Rob Hunter announced the beginning of Phase I of the Peachtree Corridor Sewer Improvement project, a series of rehabilitation activities designed to increase capacity along the corridor and extend the lives of the area’s sewers. Phase I will begin Thursday, September 22 at 6 PM and is expected to be completed by Thursday, September 29. Phase I will involve the rehabilitation of the sewers along Peachtree Road from Maple Drive to Georgia 400. The project will primarily affect businesses in the Peachtree Road Corridor, since most homes in the area are on different sewer lines.

In order to minimize disruption to the businesses and residents of the area, the construction will occur 24 hours per day for 7 days.  From Georgia 400 down to Highland Drive, the 2 outer southbound lanes of Peachtree Road will remain closed for the duration of the project. Near Maple Drive, there will be temporary lane closures during normal business hours, while the sewers in this area are lined.

The remaining phases will involve improvements on the Peachtree Road sewers, from Georgia 400 to Roxboro Road and from Shadowlawn Avenue to Maple Drive, and will be done later in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Transportation road-widening project.

“This program will ensure that this growing area of the City has the capacity necessary to support development,” Hunter said. “It also will extend the structural life of the area’s sewers by 50 years.”

The sewer rehabilitation methods for this project include:

• pipe bursting, a trenchless method of sewer reconstruction by which a plastic pipe of equal or larger diameter to the pipe being replaced is pulled through the existing sewer, which is then “burst;” and
• cured-in-place-pipelining, during which a flexible liner is installed in the existing sewer pipe.

These methods are preferred for work in heavily developed areas because they do not necessitate extensive trenching and pose the least disruption to the community’s extensive underground utility systems.

The Peachtree Corridor sewers were identified as needing immediate attention because the Georgia Department of Transportation plans to widen and improve that section of Peachtree Road. In an effort to minimize disruption, the schedules for the two projects are being coordinated.  The rehabilitation is part of the City’s capacity relief efforts, mandated by the Consent Decrees. The sewer rehabilitation program is part of the $3.2 billion Clean Water Atlanta program designed to overhaul the City’s aging water and sewer infrastructure and provide residents and downstream communities with the cleanest, safest drinking water possible at the lowest possible cost.

During the Peachtree Corridor Sewer Improvement program, businesses and residents will experience lane closures and other minor inconveniences. “We ask residents for their patience and understanding,” Hunter said. “We promise that these improvements ultimately will be worth the trouble.”

For more information on this and other Clean Water Atlanta projects, please call 404.529.9211 or visit the Clean Water Atlanta website, www.cleanwateratlanta.org.