Washington St. Sewer Replacement project to begin Monday, April 4

The City of Du Quoin on Monday, April 4 will begin an emergency replacement of approximately 250 feet of collapsed sewer line in the 800 block of North Washington Street from Thill's Florist northward to the entrance of the Marshall Browning Hospital parking lot.

The repair will once and for all correct a problem that the city first knew about six years ago and didn't address.

Mayor Guy Alongi broached the subject at the last council meeting and fielded questions from a handful of residents who over the years paid to have their private lines cleaned out that was the problem. Alongi said as soon as he found out about it, it became a goal to rectify the problem.

On Wednesday, cuts will be made in the pavement where the excavations will take place. Then, on Monday the work will begin and could take three or four days to complete. It will involve abandoning the old line, installing a new line and making new taps between homeowner lines and the main. At the outset, the cost was estimated to be upwards of $45,000, but using the city's street and water department staff for some of the work will take the cost down to $18,000. Mayor Alongi said half of the street will be kept open much of the time to give residents reasonable access to their homes, but the only access to Marshall Browning Hospital and Urgent Care will be from North Division St.