Sally prompts emergency repairs

Published 9:08 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2020

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The more than 10 inches of rain that accompanied Hurricane Sally prompted two emergency draining situations in the City of Troy.

Tim Ramsden, engineer, told city council members on Tuesday that the heavy accumulation of rainfall associated with the Sept. 16 storm created dangerous situations on both the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation access road and the area at the intersection of South Three Notch and East Madison streets.

Emergency repairs for both are estimated at $180,000 and were approved by the council.

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Ramsden said engineers knew the draining pipe at the Sirkorsky access road would eventually need replacement. “It’s a metal pipe and starting to corrode,” he said. “But the rainfall made the issue a lot worse … another big storm and we could lose part of that road.”

The road is the only access to the Sirkorsky facility, and Ramsden said repairs would involve boring a new pipe next to the roadway. “Interruptions to access should be minimal,” he said. The cost is estimated at $60,000.

At the intersection of South Three Notch and Madison streets, the heavy rains collapsed an old brick pipe, exposing the collapsed pipe as well as garbage buried at an old landfill. “We have two large holes with exposed garbage, and it’s just going to get worse if we have a rain event,” Ramsden said. “We had no indication there was any issue there until Sally.”

Ramsden said emergency repairs would include excavating about 30 feet around the pipe, removing exposed garbage and transporting it to the Coffee County Landfill, and replacing the 50-plus-year-old brick pipe with plastic pipe. Estimated cost is $120,000.

“This is an extreme emergency,” said Marcus Paramore, council president. “Both situations need emergency repairs.”

Mayor Jason Reeves said city officials are hopeful at least a portion of the expense will be reimbursed by FEMA. “EMA Director Herb Reeves expects that we will meet our emergency declaration threshold,” Reeves said. “So we expect to be able to qualify for FEMA reimbursement.”

In other business on Tuesday, the council approved an agreement with the Pike County Commission regarding the placement of utilities and easements at the new jail complex and approved the FYE2021 budget.