LWSC begins Lynnway pipe project

LYNN – A $246,000 Lynnway pipe replacement project will help eliminate water line breaks that tied up traffic on the city’s main thoroughfare and other streets last year.Water and Sewer officials said 2,700 feet of pipe is being replaced on the Lynnway and side streets including Circle Avenue.”It will eliminate a lot of breaks and we hope it solves the problem,” said Chief Engineer Anthony Marino.Freezing temperatures caused pipe breaks across Lynn last year including nearly a dozen in the first two months of the year. The breaks flooded Pleasant, Hurd and Urban streets and left homeowners without water while repair crews repaired the pipes.Another break at the end of the year tied up traffic on the Lynnway and two others last December flooded streets around Parkland Avenue and Broad and Spring streets.Water and Sewer is starting the Lynnway project even as it moves into the last two months of sewer line work in East Lynn.Major pipe repairs on Chestnut Street near Maple Street were completed last weekend, allowing Chestnut to reopen.The work involves installing devices called rainfall regulators onto underground pipes.Grove Construction is doing pipe repairs through mid-November, including Sanderson Avenue where the regulator structure separating Stacey Brook from one of the main drain lines is being rebuilt.The project is part of a bigger initiative by the commission to create separate storm and sewage pipe networks in order to prevent rain water or snow melt from overwhelming the Commercial Street sewage treatment plant’s capabilities.Grove is also working on a drain located on Groveland Street, a side street, like Sanderson, located off Chatham Street. The Sanderson work should be completed in the week of Oct. 10-17.Residents on the affected streets will be able to access their street. Police details will be present for traffic control and safety.Work will take place during the day, Monday through Friday. Construction notices will be hand delivered to residents advising them of the construction activity and street detours.Creating a separate storm and sewage pipe network is crucial to helping the Commission meet a 2009 federal deadline for reducing sewage discharges into the ocean.