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Aging sewers get new life following Council vote Thursday Jan 18, 2018 at 11:01 PM Jan 18, 2018 at 11:25 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm More than two miles of aging concrete sewer lines in Medford will be fixed at a cost of $577,790.05, using a plastic lining process that requires minimal digging. The 12,112 feet of sewers that will be lined with a cured-in-place plastic material will be targeted to 51 different locations, mostly on the west side of Medford. The City Council Thursday night unanimously approved the project. Some of the streets where the work will be conducted include King Street, Court Street, Edwards Street, Lyman Avenue, East Jackson Street, Sailing Avenue and Crater Lake Avenue. The work will start after Feb. 10, and be completed by June 8. Public Works crews put video cameras into sewer lines to gauge how well they're holding up. If the concrete pipes have deteriorated only slightly, they are good candidates for the lining. Concrete pipes that have roots or other serious damage have to be replaced. "To me, it is remarkable how long the concrete lasts," said Cory Crebbin, director of Medford's Public Works Department. "Sewage is pretty acidic." Sometimes crews have found rats in sewer lines, and they've occasionally found raccoons in storm drains. With more than 200 miles of sewer lines in the city, Crebbin said, it's good to have a maintenance schedule to keep up with the aging pipes. He said his department wants to do about two miles a year to keep up as the system ages, though he said he'd like to do more because of the age of the concrete lines in the city. Michels Corporation, headquartered in Brownsville, Wisconsin, was the low bidder. A bid by Institutform Technologies LLC was $626,964.70. Engineers estimated the project would cost $726,574. "It's nice to see a construction project come in under budget," Councilor Michael Zarosinski said. Crebbin said the plastic lining installers generally have to make two holes in the street to insert the equipment. He said the approach is far less disruptive to neighborhoods. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.