The Fishers Department of Public Works has been dealing with the collapse of a sewer line near 106th Street and Allisonville Road since late Sunday night (December 27th). Rick Farnham, Assistant Director of Public Works, told the Board of Public Works and Safety the collapse was related to the rainstorm the city was experiencing.
The city has a sewage lift station just north and west of the intersection.
“Due to the proximity of our lift station to the intersection, this collapsed line became rather serious quickly, as far as developing a sinkhole which took in a sidewalk, endangered a (traffic) signal that is there,” Farnham said. “It is endangering the lift station, it’s endangering the treatment facility also.”
Farnham said the danger to the treatment facility comes from debris getting into the sewer line and entering the treatment system for sewage.
The Public Works Department immediately summoned contractors on site to help handle the emergency. The Board of Works approved an emergency authorization to pay for the repairs.
Farnhan told the board it is difficult to come up with a total amount needed to handle all the repairs at this early stage, but his best guess is $100,000. He said repairs will be required for the roads, traffic signals, electrical systems and the lift station. Part of the roadway may need to be rebuilt, he said
Mayor Fadness said he has emergency spending authority of up to $50,000, which will be tapped immediately to handle the emergency situation. The emergency also will result in not taking the usual 2-week period for the bidding process, allowing emergency work to be done.
City Attorney Chris Greisl told the board this meeting was to handle emergency items only. The session was originally scheduled for Wednesday at 10am, but the board was short of a quorum with Mayor Fadness experiencing 3 flight delays in returning from a holiday trip to North Dakota. The Board of Works has only 3 members and Jason Meyer is out of town this week. Meetings normally require a 48-hour notice under state law, but emergency sessions may be held on less notice to handle emergency situations only.