Carrier Creek Interceptor Improvements Project and St. Joe Hwy Closure

Project Updates:

The main components of the Carrier Creek project are closer to completion. The pipework will be complete with one to two more days of work to finish all the appropriate tie-ins and bring the new sanitary sewer pipe into service. The contractor will continue site restoration and clean-up through next week. Clean-up on St. Joe Highway is underway to reinstall guard rails and to make the remaining improvements to the roadway that are needed after all the construction for reopening in the near future.  We will have another update after Thanksgiving.

Project Details:

Timeline:                            
July 2023 - Fall 2023 (MAP OF PROJECT Right of Text)

Project Information:      
The Carrier Creek Sewer Interceptor is the Township’s largest sewer interceptor spanning 4-5 miles, serving thousands of residents in addition to major employers such as General Motors, Meijer Distribution, Auto Owners, Amazon, and the State of Michigan Secondary Complex.  

This project consists of the Replacement of a portion of the sewer by constructing a new, parallel sewer pipe with special structural supports and undercutting of poor soils to address the site conditions that compromised the existing sewer. 

The planned project is expected to install approximately 1,250 feet of 36-inch sanitary sewer via open excavation from St. Joe Highway, cross country to Vicksburg Drive. The work includes the installation of sanitary sewer under Carrier Creek and St. Joe Highway and abandoning the existing 30-inch sanitary sewer being replaced. This section needed to be repaired in order to reliably serve the new sanitary flows from the Ultium Battery Plant, existing industrial customers, and a significant number of residential properties.

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Roads Affected:               
St. Joe Highway will be closed in both directions throughout the duration of the project.  Intermittent road closures on secondary roads in the adjacent neighborhoods throughout the project.

Public Instructions:        
Please plan an alternate route during construction.  Delta Center Cemetery and all residences West of Carrier Creek will be accessible from Canal Rd.  All residences east of Carrier Creek are accessible from Creyts Rd.

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Project Background:

In 2017, Delta Township invested significant effort and resources into assessing its water and sanitary sewer system infrastructure, in order to proactively plan for the ongoing maintenance, repair, and replacement of the assets.   

In 2018, an internal multi-sensor inspection (MSI) of nearly 27,000 feet (5.1 miles) of the Carrier Creek Interceptor Sewer.  The inspection identified two significant issues: 

• A portion of the sewer located on either side St. Joe Highway had a significant amount of solids deposits within it. In 2019, the Township cleaned and reinspected the 6,400 (1.2 miles) feet of the sewer identified near St. Joe Hwy, which has further revealed a defect in the sewer that is causing the solids to build up. 
• A 1,250 foot (0.25 miles) stretch between St. Joe Highway and Gettysburg Drive has been identified as having several portions of the 30-inch diameter, reinforced concrete pipe and several manholes that settled and are causing sewage flow to back up. 

Why are these issues cause for concern?

The condition presents a significant risk to the wastewater resource recovery facility (WRRF) and/or the environment. If the pipe were to continue to settle and joints separate, the pipe could take on water from the stream, effectively diverting water from the stream to the WRRF, present untreated sewer flow into regulated open waters, or the pipe could become blocked and cause the backup of sanitary sewer upstream of the blockage. Any of these scenarios would have significant impacts on the wastewater system and environment. This sewer also carries existing flow from GM, the State of Michigan Secondary Complex, the industrial area in the southwest portion of the Township, and a significant number of residential properties and represents a significant risk to maintaining service to these customers, as well.

This project is very complex given the environmental factors along Carrier Creek, access for contractors and equipment, poor soils, and crossing St. Joe Hwy.    This project includes sanitary bypass pumping and around-the-clock dewatering in order to lay pipe in these wet conditions.

 How will the project be paid for?

 This sewer issue has become even more critical given this segment of sewer will also serve the Ultium 3 Battery Plant, which will discharge another 535,000 gallons per day of flow beginning in mid-2023. Accordingly, the project was submitted for and received grant funding for property acquisition and construction from the State of Michigan (MEDC/MSF) in support of the Ultium 3 project in early 2022.

Are Project Delays a Cause for Concern?

While the project has had delays, the Township continues to work with our engineers and Contractors to assess and address the conditions.  The new sections of the pipe are being installed correctly and in the best interest of the Township.

We understand this project is an inconvenience for residents, especially with the closure of St. Joe.  We are working to finish this project as quickly as possible and to reopen St. Joe.