MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Crews from the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) will begin a $115,000 waterline replacement project on North High Street that will close a portion of the street for about four weeks May 6.
MUB Senior Engineer Cory Jones said the work is in response to a customary review of facilities prior to street work done by the city of Morgantown in the area this year.
“Based on some leaks we’ve had in the past and the age of the system, we want to upgrade our infrastructure there,” Jones said.
The work zone will consume both lanes of North High Street and will include the closure of the entrance to the Mountainlair parking garage. Jones said signage will be in place to help motorists get around the area during the closure.
“Replacing an existing 8-inch waterline between Prospect Street and Maiden Lane on North High Street,” Jones said. “Once we have that replaced, we’re going to do some spot repairs on our sanitary and storm sewer mains between Maiden and Fife Streets.”
Due to the close quarters in the work area, the decision was made to entirely close the road. Typically, this type of work can be completed in less time when the work area is closed to traffic, so if traffic were maintained through the project, it would likely take more than four weeks to complete.
“We are going to have to shut down the portion of North High Street between Prospect Street and Maiden Lane while we replace the waterline due to construction activities and the laydown/staging area,” Jones said. “That part will need to be closed for the duration of our replacement project.”
The current waterline lays under the curb, according to Jones, and the new line will move closer to the centerline and the existing storm and sanitary sewer lines.
“We’ll be moving it a little farther out into the road with our new line, and our existing sanitary and storm sewers are right in the middle of High Street, Jones said.