Outfall work flows along Henlopen Ave.

Construction of the force main pipe for the ocean outfall in Rehoboth Beach is centered on Henlopen Avenue, where crews are laying one section of pipe and preparing to connect to the pipe that will extend a mile off Deauville Beach into the ocean.

The street has been under construction since November, but work has now intensified on one of the longest stretches of the route from the wastewater treatment plant to the outfall site in the ocean.

Kelvin George, project manager for city engineer GHD, which oversees the complex project, said there are more crews on Henlopen Avenue in part because A-Del Construction crews shifted to Henlopen while they awaited permits for work on State Road. 

Once A-Del finishes installing pipe on Henlopen Avenue, the contractor will repave the road. As part of that work, the city will install new stone on the right of way for use as public parking.

City spokeswoman Krys Johnson said crushed limestone will be placed in the 10-foot space between the edge of the new pavement and the limit of the city’s right of way.  Any pavers or shrubbery in the right of way will be removed by the city, she said. While it has long been illegal to place anything, including pavers, in the city right of way, in recent years, the law has not been actively enforced.

Placing crushed stone along the right of way has not been debated in city meetings, although City Manager Sharon Lynn discussed the project as part of her report at the commissioners’ workshop meeting Feb. 5. Mayor Paul Kuhns sent a letter on Feb. 1 to Henlopen Avenue residents, outlining details of the project and advising them that property owners will be notified a week before and a day before construction begins near their homes. Kuhns’ letter said traffic will be maintained around construction zones and that residents should expect noise.

As for the delays in the force main project, George said after an A-Del crew working on State Road hit a water main in December, work on State Road was delayed. George said the accident was caused by inaccurate city mapping of the water main.

Then, A-Del requested a permit from Delaware Department of Transportation to close part of State Road while working in the area as a safety measure, siting loose soils and the possibility the road could collapse. He said it took weeks to get approval to close the road; portions of State Road remain closed until Monday, Feb. 26.

So with work on State Road temporarily stalled, George said, A-Del focused its attention on other parts of the complex project. A-Del sped up the pace of work on Henlopen Avenue, placing crews at three different locations: Henlopen and Surf avenues, Henlopen Avenue near Grove Park and a subcontracted crew conducting jack-and-bore drilling under Grove Park from the intersection of Rehoboth Avenue and Canal Street.

A-Del recently sent a crew back to State Road to finish work there. George said A-Del is confident they will finish the project on schedule barring any other obstacles.

Ocean work nears finish line

Meanwhile, George said, ocean outfall contractor Manson Construction is preparing the next phase of construction as the company begins finishing its work out in the water.

Manson has now installed a section of pipe and the diffuser 6,000 feet out in the ocean and has been conducting directional drilling from Deauville Beach.

The next steps, George said, are for that pipe to be linked to 3,800 feet of pipe that has been fused together at Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes and will be floated down to the outfall site in Rehoboth.

Manson will then execute what George called a “pullback.” He said once the pipe is floated to the outfall site, it will be fed through the hole that has been drilled in the ocean floor, called a pullback because the pipe is being pulled back through the ocean floor toward land.

Once the pipe is in place, George said, Manson will then connect the pipe from the ocean to the force main, now being installed near the intersection of Henlopen and Surf avenues. Manson will also be sending divers into the ocean to work on the mechanical functions of the diffuser, which disperses the treated effluent into the ocean.

George said Manson has been able to work through unpredictable weather by preparing for construction on land in order to move quickly when crews go into the water.