Funds sought to repair flume

This section on North Main Street will likely remain closed for some time as city officials deal with an underground collapse that might have impacted the "main drainage structure" for Shelbyville. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

City officials are already calling on state and national representatives about acquiring federal stimulus money to pay for the needed repairs.

Public Works director Mark Clanton briefed city council members last night about the collapse that has closed off parts of North Main Street and Cannon Boulevard.

"This is the main drainage structure for this town, for the watershed from the Celebration grounds all the way to Horse Mountain," he said. "It all comes to that one spot."

Clanton was going to enter the flume yesterday to check for damage, but the flow of water was too high and swift to enter the structure.

"We really don't know a whole lot," Clanton said, saying they have no idea if there is any damage to the flume itself or if the collapse is surrounding the underground structure.

"I'm going to be the guinea pig to go in," Clanton said Tuesday evening, "as long as there is no rain overnight."

Clanton also met with contact engineers yesterday afternoon at the site; they also had no idea of what the extent of the damage might be until the flume is entered and inspected.

"Hopefully the flume itself is not damaged, but the possibility is there," Clanton said, explaining that the dirt above it has shifted four to five feet.

"The dirt has disappeared; we can't find it anywhere."

However, even with the tremendous amount of rain that has fallen over the past weekend, the flow to the flume has been normal, which tells Clanton that "something is not restricted."

Businesses impacted

The situation with the North Main and traffic to business has been a hot topic for council members and city officials over the past two days, Clanton said, with customers unable to reach their drug store, or veterinary clinic.

However, city officials are making sure that customers have access to the business impacted by the road closure, by directing traffic to the rear of the buildings on North Brittain Street and Delray Street.

"Right now, it's a situation that's not good for anybody," Clanton said of the road closure, "but it's a pretty scary situation of what could happen," speaking of the possibility of further collapse.

"It's going to take a little while to get this diagnosed and fixed."

Clanton added that no matter what the underground damage is, North Main "will have to be excavated, regardless."

If the flume is intact, then workers will have to excavate around it, with Clanton saying the cause of the collapse can be anything from "a sinkhole to a washout."

Several council members gave suggestions of how to keep customers going to the impacted businesses, but the issue of semi truck traffic is a factor, which could cause a major traffic jam for the rest of Shelbyville.

Deputy police chief Mike Rogers stated that if the trucks enter the impacted area, they would have no place to turn around. The only solution is to have someone there around the clock to let local people into the area to do business, Rogers said.

Looking for funds

Mayor Wallace Cartwright said he has been in contact with Tennessee Deputy Governor John Morgan to look into the possibility of getting federal stimulus money to pay for the repair work.

Cartwright told the council that Morgan has contacted the Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon's office, as well as the offices of Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander.

"Until we can find out what's happening inside, we don't know what to tell them," Cartwright explained. "They want to know how much will we need and we don't know."

Long-time resident Morton Renegar, who once owned a drug store at the site, expressed to city manager Ed Craig that his concern was that the flume may be washed out underneath, similar to what happened in 1964, when the flume collapsed soon after it was completed.

Truck vibrations

The first problems were noticed Saturday morning, Clanton said, were a small indention was noticed in the area, but the real dilemma wasn't apparent until Sunday "when it started falling out."

Clanton said that on Sunday, he observed a tractor trailer pull into a point far away from the initial point of collapse.

"When he stopped and took off, the entire section next to the road and indention dropped six inches in an instant," he said. "The vibrations of that truck is carried across and it's messing with what's going on over there,"

Clanton called various city officials and it was decided that the street was too dangerous to drive on, saying if something were to happen, a car could end up falling 14 to 16 feet below the street.

Clanton also said that engineers have told him that adjoining lanes not impacted by the collapse must remain closed as well for safety reasons.

"It's just way too dangerous a situation," Clanton said.

Craig added that if the city gave an outstanding service award, Clanton would get it, "because as far as I know he hasn't been home since Saturday."