Warrenton crews continue to work on repairs to a sewer main that caused a portion of W. Main Street to close for several days last week.

The road has reopened, but work on the sewer main is ongoing. 

“It’s going from the service road near the school administration building, and then it’s going to end up across the road from Morgan Park,” said city Director of Operations Jon Struckhoff. 

Crews briefly closed the block of W. Main Street in Warrenton between Highway J and Elm Streets during work hours to replace the pipe under the street. 

The project is replacing piping for the southwest interceptor, part of the city’s sewer main. Struckhoff said they are replacing old eight and 18-inch clay-tile pipe with more modern 24-inch HDP plastic pipe. 

The work is being done by Pace Construction, who received the bid for the work at a cost of just under $2.6 million. 

Struckhoff said while the street is still somewhat damaged from the work, contractors will be sealing up that damage shortly, after they install a manhole on the south side of W. Main Street, across from city hall. 

“As soon as they set the manhole, they’re going to test that pipe, make sure the pipe’s all good to go, and they’re going to get that asphalt there replaced as quick as we can,” said Struckhoff. 

He did say motorists can expect another short-term closure later in the project further west on Main Street where the main crosses under the road again. 

He expected that closure to take place some time this summer. 

Struckhoff said the newer plastic piping should be more durable, and the larger size would allow the sewer system to more comfortably accommodate rising demand as the city grows. 

This project is part of a larger effort to update the city’s aging infrastructure as several other sections of the sewer and water main systems have received improvements recently, or are scheduled to receive improvements in the future. 

“This is undersized as well as aging, so we’re going to upsize and replace it,” said Struckhoff. 

While he did not expect this project to impact citizens much outside of the additional road closure later this year, he did ask for residents’ understanding as city crews work to upgrade infrastructure. 

“Just bear with us in the construction,” said Struckhoff. “I know it’s frustrating, sometimes when roads are closed but it’s only short-term. We’re working as fast as we can, and we’ll get it cleaned up when we’re done, we just need to make a mess before we can make it better.”