News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Repairs to Monterey’s stormwater drainage system will cost an estimated $500,000.
Representatives from Lebanon-based Warren and Associates provided the figure during a meeting with the town’s board of mayor and aldermen Monday night.
“You’re easily looking at around a half a million,” Warren and Associates Owner Jerry Warren said. “That’s a pretty good bit of work, but bare in mind that it’s very preliminary budget stuff.”
Warren said an early survey of the system found at least one issue along Commercial Avenue and down under the railroad tracks.
“We’ve got a 36 inch pipe that’s got about half capacity and that’s an issue,” Warren and Associates Owner Jerry Warren said. “In addition to having a lot of silt, the pipes are relatively flat, which basically means they don’t carry as much water as we would like them to.”
Warren said Monterey should consider blasting out the pipes to expand capacity of water flow.
“Right now, we are just trying to get started,” Warren said. “If we can get the pipes cleaned out, that’s obviously going to help because we can get some more capacity that way.”
Mayor Bill Wiggins said city work crews should begin the pipe cleaning project in the next few weeks.
Warren said long range plans would call for adding a larger pipe under Commercial and channeling it out to nearby areas.
“In fairness to TDOT, when that pipe was put in it was 1952,” Warren said. “It’s done remarkably well for a long time, but things have changed with new construction and we’ve got to figure out a way to get more capacity.”
Monterey will consider applying for several grant and even a federal loan to help pay for the project.
