Print |
E-mail to a friend
ZZUNUSED
Board, crews working to repair sinkhole
Crews work around a massive sinkhole near Harris Riverfront Park on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Despite a 30-foot-deep, 80-foot-wide sinkhole that has eaten up a substantial chunk of land and cut off power at Harris Riverfront Park, X-Fest will proceed as planned this weekend, officials said Wednesday.
Construction crews have spent the past three months unearthing two collapsed sewer lines at the park. The excavation site is located in the grassy field between the 10th and 12th Street entrances to the park.
A 42-inch-wide brick sewer line was replaced with a 48-inch-wide concrete pipe in July. The brick line was about 100 years old. Crews, however, have had trouble repairing a 12-inch, cast-iron line that is more than 50 years old, said Matt Kirk, manager of inspections and engineering for the Huntington Sanitary Board.
"The pipe is six feet under the river elevation, so we're running into water every time we try to fix it," he said.
Kirk said the Sanitary Board is debating on whether to continue trying to fix the pipe or reroute sewer to the existing main line at the park. Whichever option the board chooses, the work could take at least another month, he said.
The Sanitary Board also has had to cut off electricity to the park because of underground cables that run through the construction site, Kirk said. Power won't be restored to the park until the work is finished, he said.
A.J. Boleski, general manager of the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, said the construction site won't affect X-Fest, the daylong hard rock festival set for Saturday. The annual festival is sponsored by WAMX- FM, X106.3. The arena oversees events at the park.
"We're going to move the main stage up 100 feet (toward the 10th Street entrance to the park) from its previous position, and we'll use the remaining field for the fans," Boleski said. "The construction site will be fenced off to the public."
Several generators will roll into the park Friday to provide electricity for the concert, Boleski said.
