Williamston Mayor Mack Durham said the town and County engineering firm BLE are considering an option to fix the “sink hole” problem on Minor Street.
The original plan was to replace a corrugated drainage pipe that runs under the road, however the drainage area is defined as a “blue line” stream on EPA records.
A blue line stream is considered to be a navigable stream of water.
The drainage coming through the pipe comes from runoff and springs in and around the ballfield area.
The EPA classification has additional requirements including the bottom of the pipe must match to grade one hundred feet downstream, according to Mayor Durham.
It also requires “wetland mitigation”, which according to Durham is the equivalent of purchasing “wetlands credits.”
The cost of the project, estimated at $365,000, includes the wetland mitigation which is estimated to cost the town approximately $41,000.
The option being considered as an alternative to replacing the pipe is a “short bridge”, Durham said.
A bridge project would save the town roughly $50,000 according to a preliminary study, Williamston Public Works Department Head David Rogers said.
Durham said he hopes to have a solution to the problem decided soon.
The project is also complicated by a 12 inch water line and a sewer line that cross the drainage area at the pipe.
