Cahokia Heights partners with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair major sewer line

CAHOKIA HEIGHTS, Ill. (KMOV) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District and the City of Cahokia Heights are partnering together to repair a major sewer line in the city.

On Wednesday, the two entities entered into a cost-shared agreement for sewer improvements included in the Sanitary Sewer Trunkline Project.

The $4.67 million project, of which $3.5 million was sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin as a Congressional Directed Spending Item, will involve trenchless sewer rehabilitation of the largest, deepest, and most downstream sections of the main sanitary sewer trunkline conveying flow through the City of Cahokia Heights. These improvements will correct pipe deficiencies, restore structural stability, and ensure long-term reliability of this main conduit for wastewater transport.

The Sanitary Sewer Trunkline Project is located primarily within city collector streets spanning from the intersection of Jerome and Mousette lanes and continues west to the Levin Drive Sanitary Pump Station. These neighborhoods regularly experience street flooding, basement backups and yard flooding due to the deteriorating sanitary sewer system that results in increased inflow and infiltration in the system. This project will assist with the rehabilitation of the main trunkline that will benefit this economically disadvantaged community in the project area by reducing sewer backups into homes and overflows into receiving water.

“Infrastructure improvement projects like this are the result of partnerships among federal, regional and local agencies.,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Sears, deputy commander of the St. Louis District. “We are extremely proud of this project and the economic and environmental benefits it will provide to the Cahokia Heights community. This agreement we are g today gives us the latitude for future phases moving forward.”

The St. Louis District’s environmental infrastructure programs assist communities with building, deg and/or restoring environmentally friendly water supply and wastewater treatment systems. As of this year, the district has assisted more than 10 communities in eastern Missouri and western and southern Illinois in building or rehabilitating projects. The total cost for these projects is more than $55 million.

“It’s the largest, deepest line in the system,” said Jim Nold, a senior engineer with Hurst-Rosche, Inc, the city’s contractor overseeing the project.

Nold told reporters Wednesday that roughly 3.5 miles of the 9-mile line will be fixed using this cheaper and faster technology called cast-in-place pipe lining.

“It hardens to the inside shell of the pipe and seals off all those ts that leak in groundwater, sand and dirt without digging it up,” he said.

Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. said the city has $40 million to solve sewer and water line problems but it’s still not enough.

“We may be on the high end another $10 to $15 million short,” McCall said. “On the low end--maybe another $8 million.”

Officials said the city is at least a decade out from having all of its flooding issues fixed but estimate this latest project could be completed in a few years.

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