Restoring Capacity and Reinforcement of New Bedford's Main Interceptor

Substantially deteriorated pipe segments under a major state highway (Route 18) and continued street flooding during rainfall events identified the need to clean and repair the city of New Bedford's main interceptor to the forefront of the city's capital improvement program. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated grit caused by discharges from capacitor production from the 1940s to 1970s, irregular pipeline configurations, and the presence of a major state highway complicated the cleaning and repair of the only pipeline that conveys wastewater to the city's wastewater treatment plant. Discussions with local and federal environmental agencies, city departments and local residences identified specific project concerns that needed to be addressed as part of the interceptor cleaning and repair effort. Obtaining buy-in from all stakeholders, careful coordination and planning to develop strict contractor controls within the contract documents, and development of a detailed cleaning and repair plan has contributed to the successful implementation of the project to date.