HADLEY — The Select Board authorized emergency repairs to deteriorating sewer lines on Route 9 near the malls at its April 25 meeting.
The board, acting on advice from Department of Public Works Superintendent Marlo Warner, voted 4-0, with member and town employee John Waskiewicz abstaining, to declare an emergency that will allow repairs estimated at around $76,000 to proceed.
Warner told the board that he is concerned about the pipes collapsing when heavy equipment is brought to the area to begin installing a sidewalk from South Maple Street to the Amherst town line.
Following a recent meeting with Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials and others, a camera was inserted through 2,000 feet of sewer lines, most on the west end of Route 9 beginning at the intersection of South Maple, and some near the intersection of East Street, where road widening is planned.
Warner said the footage he observed shows that the sewer line is paper thin and gaskets, which seal the pipes from the exterior, have in some cases migrated inside the pipes.
The pipes, installed in 1964, could be vulnerable, Warner said, and adding the new lining now is less expensive than if any lines rupture and break.
“The last thing we want out there is a collapse at that intersection,” Warner said of the busy South Maple intersection, where the lines carry all the waste from the malls, restaurants and hotels in the area.
If a break happens, he said, roads would have to be closed as extensive repairs are undertaken.
The lining of the aging pipes can be done in three days, with most of the work taking place overnight to minimize disruptions.
The last significant repairs happened in 2003, when the sewer lines broke near the McDonald’s restaurant.
Warner has been planning for replacement of lines that would cost $750,000, but that is not scheduled until 2022 at the earliest.
Town Administrator David Nixon said he intends to work with the state’s Department of Revenue for an emergency expenditure authorization and the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and maintenance for emergency procurement procedures.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.