Feb. 4, 2003 – Work on the sewer line that runs beneath the Christiansted Boardwalk will begin Wednesday, according to a Public Works Department release.
The project — set to begin two weeks ago — was delayed pending the arrival of the off-island contractor's equipment and personnel, Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood said. He said the company, Perma-Liner Industries of Largo, Florida, also was "hiring locally to supplement their work force."
The company has the contract to repair lines along the boardwalk and King and Hospital streets. The work "includes cleaning and televising the lines to check for cracks and breaks and then lining the existing lines with a PVC-coated felt tubing treated with liquid resin," Callwood said. He said preliminary work under the boardwalk is expected to take one week before the lining of the sewer pipes begins.
He said the company has developed a simple solution to repairing cracked or broken sewer pipes without excavation. The pipes are pressure cleaned, then digital recordings are used to identify cracked or broken areas in need of repair.
Callwood said the project includes 1,200 feet of pipe under the boardwalk, 300 feet on King Street and 400 feet along Hospital Street. The work should take about three months to complete, he said.
"This project will address the more urgent repair concerns and provide an improved flow for the wastewater system through downtown Christiansted," Callwood said. He added that the contractor will train employees of a local firm, Lew Henley's Sewage Disposal, so that repairs later can be made by the on-island company.
Downtown Christiansted business owners have long complained of sewage flowing through the streets and into the harbor when lines fail. The V.I. government has been under federal court order since June 2001 to completely revamp the territory's sewer systems. The estimated cost for that work is $100 million.
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