By John Howell
The construction project to replace a four-inch sewer line from the W. M. Harmon Industrial Park along Highway 35 to a lift station near St. Mary’s Catholic Church moved forward this week after initial delays hampered workers.

“As of today, they are trying to finish up the first bore,” Batesville City Engineer Blake Mendrop said during his report to Batesville’s Mayor and Aldermen at their First Tuesday meeting.

On Wednesday morning, a Brocato Construction Company crew was connecting the new, 10-inch pipe to pipe that had been placed under the parking lot at Wells Funeral Home by boring under the surface. Construction company owner Chris Brocato said that bore was about 400 feet long.

The project also requires bores under two creeks, two residences, streets and driveways along the 6,800-foot route where the new 10-inch line will replace the four-inch line.

Aldermen in November voted to authorize the work as an emergency project after Mendrop Engineering engineer Byron Houston told aldermen that the smaller diameter line was continually overheating lift station pumps.

 The line carries sewage from the W. M. Harmon Industrial Park and areas east of I-55 to a larger line that then carries the effluent to the wastewater treatment plant on Panola Avenue.

The increased capacity will also accommodate additional growth east of I-55, Houston told city officials during an October meeting.

The November decision by the mayor and aldermen to authorize the work as an emergency project allowed the work to begin immediately without advertising for bids.

Brocato Construction’s estimate was $235,362.65 for the project.