AUB Wastewater Work Requires Lane Closure
Media Contact:
Wayne Scarbrough
(423) 745-4501 ext. 6002
wscarbrough@aub.org
August 24, 2018
ATHENS, Tenn. – Athens Utilities Board (AUB) wastewater construction crews will replace an aging manhole on Park Street over the course of Wednesday, Aug. 29, and Thursday, Aug. 30.
The manhole in question is in the right-hand, northbound lane of Park Street near the intersection with Glendale Ave. Doing the work will require that heavy equipment, trucks, and personnel be in the street.
Therefore, to ensure the safety of workers and the public, Park Street traffic will be reduced from four lanes to two lanes from White Street to Hill Street throughout the course of the two-day project, as the construction site will include a large excavation and associated hazards.
Glendale Avenue will be completely closed from Park Street to Hill Street during the same time period.
The Glendale detour and Park Street lane re-routing will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, after school busses have run, and will remain in effect around the clock until all work is complete on Thursday afternoon.
The city of Athens Public Works Department will provide a traffic control plan and necessary barricades and signage to ensure a safe work area.
AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough said that with traffic at the White Street – Park Street intersection already snarled by the state highway widening project of Hwy. 30 (White Street), some may wonder why the local utility chose next week to replace the manhole.
“That’s a very legitimate question and one we asked our division superintendent internally. The answer is that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) construction crews are preparing to lay sewer line down Glendale Ave., from Hwy. 30, and that line must tie into our manhole on Park Street,” he said.
“The manhole is decades old, constructed of brick and mortar, and is ripe for replacement anyway. With DOT ready to lay sewer lines that will need to tie into this manhole, now is the time to replace it with a modern unit, ready for the new sewer lines.
“We definitely understand the frustrations of traffic in this particular area right now, as we all deal with it throughout weekdays as well going to and from AUB to field locations. This is one of the downsides of highway and infrastructure upgrades in a downtown area, and we thank everyone for their understanding and patience,” Scarbrough said.
AUB is working one-on-one with businesses in the work area to ensure ingress and egress throughout the work.
-xxx-
Map courtesy of City of Athens Public Works.