Significant Sewer Repair is beginning on Pennsylvania Avenue

As you know, sewer services are provided to the Town of Bethany Beach by Sussex County. Significant segments of our sewer system are several decades old and with that age we see an occasional pipe failure.

The 18-inch sanitary trunk line running beneath Pennsylvania Avenue from Central Avenue to our southern Town limits is currently in a distressed condition. This trunk line exhibits a tension crack along the top inside surface. At multiple locations the cracks extend through the pipe and these cracks allow ground water to enter the pipe at a large flow rate, bringing with it the surrounding soil. This condition, if left unattended has the potential to cause a sinkhole in the roadway due to a loss of subgrade support. One spot on South Pennsylvania Avenue has already degraded into a sinkhole and has been temporarily repaired. 

Because of the pipes condition and the potential for significant issues on the traveled portion of the street, Sussex County is proceeding currently with a pipe-lining repair operation from Central Boulevard south along Pennsylvania Avenue to a connection point at the Southern Town limits. The repair will be completed using a phasing operation and will not require the open cutting of the road. This project will be completed at no cost to the Town of Bethany Beach.

Bypass pumping will be set up so flows can be diverted around the work areas. The repair operation will continue South until the last section is completed. No interruption of services is planned, and all streets will be drivable. There will be no road closures and the project is anticipated to take approximately 8 weeks to complete.