Green Street in dire need of repairs

(10/19) This past spring, a portion of cracked asphalt, about 40 feet from Maple Avenue on Green Street, was brought to the Town’s attention by a concerned resident. A brief investigation, where a camera was sent along Green Street from Fulton St to Maple Ave, showed a breach to the storm drain. The galvanized pipes in question were installed in the 70’s and with over 50 years of wear they are showing signs of severe deterioration.

Town Manager Sean Williams described the condition of Green Street as poor, saying "this is an urgent situation as these pipes see a lot of water and the road’s condition is poor as it is." In 2020 a stormwater study was completed which recommended replacing the entire pipe system from Colony Village to George Street in the immediate future. Williams pointed out that it made sense to couple the work with existing work on Maple Avenue.

Seven alternatives with estimates were provided to fix the issues and they ranged from band-aid solutions to full replacement. The first option is to apply a patch to the breach with an estimated cost of $25,482. Second is to apply a partial lining repair for half of the pipe from the back parking lot of town hall to Maple Avenue, which is like a stint and has a life span of approximately 50 years for $158,444. Third would be to apply a full lining repair to the entire length of Green Street for $286,357. The fourth option is to wrap a concrete pipe encasement over the entire damaged pipe for $185,000, which does not repair the issue but will keep water from leaking. Fifth is to replace the breached pipe with one large pipe for $222,170 from the back parking lot of town hall to Maple Avenue. The sixth option is to replace the breached pipe with two small pipes for $400,440 along the entire length of Green Street and the last option is a total replacement of everything from the Colony Village to George Street for $1,951,982 million.

Commissioner Mary Ann Brodie-Ennis shared that the County uses linings and they have not had to replace a pipe or the linings in over 20 years. She asked if it was possible to line the entire pipeline to which Williams said, "yes however the joints would be difficult to do, and it would be unknown how long they would last."

William’s concern is if they decide to bite the bullet and move forward with a full replacement, they would likely start at the Fulton Street side of Green Street and unfortunately the pipes near Maple Avenue need the work the most. Commissioner Betsey Whitmore Brannen used the Maple Avenue project as an example stating, "We let it go and now we have a major project at a major expense."

Commissioner Mike McNiesh asked for the decision to be tabled until the next meeting due to the amount of information and number of options to consider. His opinion was that additional start up and break down costs could accumulate if they decided in favor of smaller projects by choosing a less expensive option instead of doing the entire replacement for $1.9 Million.

The Council plans on asking the Wilson Ballard Company, an engineering consulting firm, to come to the next meeting for their opinion on the pipes and roads condition. Waiting until the November meeting will allow Council members time to discuss Town finances and determine the best course of action.