Gibbs Street to reopen just in time for school

Published 3:00 am Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Gibbs Street, where both Charles Henderson Middle School and Troy Elementary School are located, will reopen today just one day ahead of schools starting in Troy.

City officials discovered the need for emergency repair of the road on July 25 and immediately guaranteed that the issue could be resolved before school got back in session.

“A hole was found in the pavement. When we investigated, we identified two voids under the pavement and came up with a plan to repair the undersized pipe in place,” Buck Watkins, of Watkins Engineering, told the council Tuesday, July 25, during a request to declare the repair an emergency.

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And that was just the beginning of the problem. When work began, the issue was found to be more extensive then originally realized, Watkins said.

The road had to be completely shut down between July 24 and August 8 to make the road safe for travel, with all traffic that had to access the road being diverted through the CHMS parking lot.

The issue with the road, Watkins explained, is that the pipe was 18 inches wide and was built to handle runoff when it was installed, but development in the area became too much for the smaller pipe to handle.

“The water was building up in the pipe and the pressure was forcing it up, creating a dome under the road,” Watkins said.

The cost to fix the pipe will be at least $124,500, which was set to be the cost of the project with S.A. Graham before discovering another issue that Watkins said will require some additional cost, although he said it is not expected to be significant.

The Troy Police Department will have officers at the schools to help direct traffic on the new road and police ask drivers to use caution due to congestion.