North Main could be re-opened in 2-3 weeks

Shelbyville public works employee Lonnie Davis directs a backhoe operator where to dump backfill around the city's underground flume as work continues to repair damage caused by flooding in April. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

If work with Shelbyville's flume proceeds as planned and there are no snags, North Main Street could reopen within two to three weeks.

That's the word from public works director Mark Clanton at the construction site Tuesday, but he cautioned against a firm estimate of when the work will be finished.

Rain or other unforeseen situations could delay the project, Clanton said, which is why he was reluctant to give a firm estimate to when the road will be open.

But work has continued with the massive project with no major snags so far.

"Everything's going good," Clanton said. "Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks or so we'll have the road opened up."

But Clanton repeatedly warned that the weather or other factors could change that estimate and not to "hold me to that."

The concrete base has been laid down around the flume to stabilize the structure. Workers were standing on the completed sections Tuesday, directing backhoe operators on where to dump gravel that they are using as back fill surrounding the underground tube.

Clanton said he hopes the flume will be completely covered by the back fill by the end of the week.

"We hope by Friday or Saturday afternoon when we leave that the road bed itself will be covered over, so we can put the road back together and open it up," Clanton said.

A concrete bridge span will need to be placed over the roadway, as was done in 1963, when the original repair work was done, Clanton explained.

After that, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will get to work regrinding the road and putting the finishing touches on the project by paving the impacted area.

The damage to the flume occurred following flooding in early May, when 10 inches of rain fell in Shelbyville

An engineer for Contech, the firm that is helping with the replacement and repair of the flume, speculated in May that water entered underneath the flume where recent sewer work was done by a contractor working for Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewer after "the back fill was not adequately compacted."

With the heavy rains that fell in May, "swirling" occurred around the flume and washed away material from the bottom corners of the pipe, which was described as the weakest point of the flume, the engineer told city officials.

However, workers discovered earlier this month that an old sewer line, which was recently replaced by the contractors for Shelbyville Power, was still open, which could have also caused storm water runoff to enter the area surrounding the flume.

With all of the other pressure on the pipe caused during the flooding, the water underneath it caused the flume to buckle upwards, city officials were told.

The 200 feet of damage extends from North Brittain to the middle of North Main Street.