City of Coos Bay release – On Friday February 10th, the city received a report from a citizen of a possible sewer leak along southbound Highway 101 (Broadway), between Alder and Birch Avenue. After investigating, staff discovered that a sanitary sewer line had collapsed. There was a 12’ x 12’ x 5’ deep void that had developed beneath the pavement. The sewer line in this section of Highway 101 varies in depth from 12’ to 19’ feet below the surface. The city does not have the equipment and staff to repair a pipe at that depth, so the city hired Knife River Materials to complete the repair. Knife River Materials mobilized on site at 6 a.m. Saturday morning February 11th. Due to the depth of the pipe both southbound lanes of Highway 101 had to be closed to safely replace the pipe. The highway closure and detour are between Hemlock Avenue and Commercial Avenue. The contractor worked around the clock using three crews to replace 245’ of damaged pipe. As of Monday afternoon, February 13th, the new sewer line has been reconnected to the collection system and is functioning. The contractor still needs to prepare for paving. Southbound Highway 101 will likely re-open sometime this weekend. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contract Operations Administrator, Greg Hamblet, at (541) 269-8918 or email: ghamblet@coosbay.org. Thank you.
