By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Major repairs on an outfall along the St. Mary’s River off First St. in Decatur appear to be mostly on schedule, city Infrastructure Manager Josh Zimmerman said this week.
Fleming Excavating won the contract with a low bid of $54,800. The local firm began work on the project in mid-July and expects to be finished by mid to late September.
The outfall is located off First St., in the area behind the now-closed, onetime Masters Plumbing/Heating building, Emergency Mobile Technologies and the city-owned parking lot.
The broken outfall, caused by up to 10 feet of erosion on the river bank, had become a major source of concern for city officials.
The inoperable mechanism pumps overflow water into the river during a heavy rain.
Since the water can’t be moved into the river at this time because of the failed mechanism, the water from an unusually heavy rainfall could back up and rise rather quickly, Zimmerman told city council several weeks back.
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