On the morning of Thursday, April 18, 2019, the JWSC was alerted to a sinkhole that had developed in the eastern shoulder of Whitlock Street in Brunswick. For the safety of local residents, commuters and our staff, the road was fully closed until an update could be provided as to the cause and repair method for this sewer main collapse. The original road closure information is provided here: https://www.goldenisleslepc.org/emergency-road-closure-4100-block-of-whitlock-street-in-brunswick-thursday-april-18-2019/
As of Saturday, April 20, our staff has determined that the repair will be extensive enough to justify keeping the 4100 block of Whitlock Street closed in the vicinity of the worksite until the repair process can be completed. Homeowner access is being maintained but all other traffic should be prepared to take another route.
The following details may be helpful to understand the cause of the sinkhole, the condition of the gravity sewer main and the repair process:
- The gravity main buried around 20 feet along Whitlock is made up of reinforced concrete pipe that has deteriorated over decades of use and become brittle in some sections, exposing the re-bar.
- A 540 foot section of this pipe, manhole-to-manhole, is being bypassed to allow services to continue uninterrupted.
- Later this week, CIPP (Cured In Place Pipe) technology materials will arrive that will allow the JWSC to repair the deteriorated pipe with a liner that will cure and harden to the point where a suitable long-term solution can be obtained short of excavating the street. A helpful video describing this process can be seen here.
- Until this lining has been installed, Whitlock will continue to remain closed to thru-traffic.
- Optimistically, the repairs could be completed by the end of this week.
Systems Pumping and Maintenance Superintendent Kirk Young is shown below holding sections of the deteriorated pipe:
