City of Akron Begins Work on West Side Transmission Main
City of Akron Press Release
From the desk of Kelli Stewart
Published: 07-27-2022
Akron, Ohio, July 26, 2022 — The City of Akron is beginning rehabilitation work on 6300 feet of the West Side Transmission Main Line (WSTM) beginning August 1. The work will take place over a six-month period and be performed primarily on North Street, Valley Street, Crosby, and a small portion of South Portage Path. HM Miller has been contracted to perform the work.
The WSTM was originally constructed in 1973 and its primary function is to convey large volumes of more than 20 million gallons of water per day from Akron’s two main storage reservoirs- the Newton Street Reservoir and the Tallmadge Low Boy Reservoir. Over the past 49 years the WSTM has had multiple failures including a massive failure on April 12, 2013. This break caused immense damage to surrounding property and lead to the main being out of service for an 18-month period.
The current pipe is made from Prestress Concrete Cylinder Pipe material (PCCP) which was installed across the country in the 1970s. It’s been discovered that this material, if manufactured in the early 1970’s, is prone to failures. Most commonly, the mortar coating on the pipe cracks allowing water to seep in and corrode the wires. Internal water pressure overwhelms the concrete core and the steel gives way causing the pipe to burst. These bursts are often massive in nature and cause significant damage.
Since the major break in 2013, the City has performed extensive inspections and multiple repairs on the pipe to minimize the risk of further bursts of the WSTM. The repairs have kept the main in use, but to avoid future failures, this rehabilitation needs to occur.
For this project, the city will utilize an innovative method of construction by inserting a 30” High Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) inside the existing 36” PCCP. This method is less invasive and requires much less excavation which should lessen the impact on travel. The projected $4.5 million project will reduce the likelihood of future catastrophic main breaks in the area.
North Street from North Howard Street to West Market Avenue will be closed starting August 1 and is expected to be closed for three weeks. The detour will utilize North Main to West Market for traffic traveling from the North. Traffic traveling from the West will use West Market to North Main.
For further information, contact:
Kelli Stewart
Communications Specialist
Phone: 330-375-2265
E-mail: [email protected]
