Challenge

When a sinkhole on a primary roadway in Bennington prompted an evaluation of its cause, it was determined to be a sewer main collapse. This prompted officials to conduct an emergency repair to maintain flows. The sewer line serves close to half of the town’s residents and businesses and is in highly trafficked areas. Televising of the main during the repair confirmed extensive deterioration of the system.  

Solution

The solution required the emergency replacement of approximately 1,460 linear feet of actively failing 15-inch vitrified clay pipe with 24-inch PVC sewer main along County Street and Benmont Avenue. The emergency nature of this project timed with the winter months required tight project timelines for repaving requirements of high traffic roads. Bypass pumping of large volumes of sewage while maintaining traffic flows was required for successful project completion.  

The solution also included trenching, removal of the existing asphalt and subbase, removal of existing sewer main, installation of sewer main, installation of select trench fill, water main decommissioning, curb stops, installation of sidewalks, full pavement depth replacement, and associated site work. We designed horizontal and vertical roadway and sidewalk improvements along County Street, which required construction phase coordination to accommodate and integrate the project with the active Town of Bennington bike path project that was under construction at the same time (State Project # STP BIKE (26) S).  

Results

The project was completed over a 3-month period and completed in January of 2023. 

At a Glance

• Client: Town of Bennington 
• Location: County Street, Bennington, VT
• Dates: 2022-2023