PRINCE FREDERICK, MD - A frequently used intersection in downtown Prince Frederick will be closed to traffic for about a month as sewer line repairs are made, county officials said.
According to a Calvert County Government press release, the county’s Department of Public Works and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) planned to close the Route 231 (Church Street) - Main Street intersection Tuesday, Feb. 2 to complete emergency repairs to the 12-inch public sewer main line in that area.
“It started as part of a capital project to reline the sewer line section along Church Street,” said county government spokesman Mark Volland, who explained the lines were installed back during the late 1960s or early 1970s.
The sewer lines are made of plastic, which Volland said was “state-of-the-art” at the time they were installed.
“What has occurred is the sewer gas has eaten away part of the pipe,” said Volland, who added that “fortifying the pipe” was the original intent of the $225,000 project. “The contractor found there was a collapse in the pipe at Church Street and Main Street. Water was found in the manhole.”
A temporary sewage pump has been set up at the gazebo at King Park and public works crews are rerouting the sewage line in order to bypass the collapsed section. No customer service will be interrupted while work is being done.
Volland said the entrance and exit to Trinity United Methodist Church will not be impacted by the closure.
The plastic pipe will be replaced with a line made of polyvinyl chloride, Volland said.
The funds for the project will come from Calvert County’s Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund. The fund is comprised of revenues generated by county government’s water and sewer customers.
Volland stated an exact cost figure for the emergency repair work has not been determined, but if it is over $100,000 the Calvert Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will need to vote on a budget adjustment.
“We have the same problems in Calvert County that other communities are having with aging infrastructure,” said Commissioners’ President Wilson H. Parran [D]. “The number of sewer line problems seems to be increasing. It’s going to be a problem until we get some additional dollars.”
The BOCC took steps to remedy the situation that arose from the depleted Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund. After several contentious public hearings on restructured water rates, the BOCC approved increases to the rates customers of the county’s water and sewer systems pay. The board also increased the county’s tap fees for new homes and businesses.
Volland said county officials are getting the word out about the Church Street - Main Street closing with two flashing road signs on eastbound Church Street and additional signs on Route 2/4.
Parran commended Department of Public Works crews for their quick response to the sewage problems in Prince Frederick.
“We have some good employees in Public Works,” he said. “They get on it and fix it as soon as possible.”
E-mail Marty Madden at editorial@calvertindependent.com.
The Calvert Independent
