Benton Charter Township - St. Joseph River Crossing Sewer Project Archives

May 9, 2025

Progress Report: The new force main in Riverview Drive has been pressure tested and is ready to be connected to the existing force main. A bypass system on the Gray Street force main is in operation to maintain Township system wastewater while the connection to the existing force main is made. The Benton Harbor boat launch is now accessible from south Riverview Drive as shown in the Stage 2 detour map.

Upcoming Work: Once the connection to the existing force main is complete, the bypass system can be removed and restoration on Riverview Drive will begin. Paving on Riverview Drive is anticipated to be during the last week of May.

April 15, 2025

Progress Report: Approximately 750 feet of force main has been installed in Riverview Drive from the south end of the project up to Gray Street. Access to the boat launch is being maintained and the Stage 1 detour is remaining in place.

Upcoming Work: Pressure testing of the installed force main will occur prior to tying into the existing force main. A bypass system will also be set up to maintain Township system wastewater while the connection to the existing force main is made.

February 26, 2025

Progress Report:

The assembled pipeline is now in place under the river as planned! The pullback operation started on Tuesday morning and progressed throughout the day until completion at approximately 7:00 Tuesday evening. This is a major milestone for the project with the trenchless work now substantially complete.

Upcoming Work:

Much work still remains to be completed on each side of the river. Directional drilling equipment will be demobilized over the next week and preparations for force main installation on the wastewater treatment plant site will begin.

Pullback operation

Connecting pipeline to drill assembly

Pipeline pull to Treatment Plant

Pipeline assembly

February 21, 2025

Crews have completed the 36-inch and 48-inch reaming pass. A final pass to clean the drill path is underway. The pipe pull back is planned for next Tuesday. Pipe installation on the Benton Harbor St Joseph Wastewater Treatment Plant site is scheduled to start mid-March, weather depending.

Pipeline assembly

36-inch reaming head

February 11, 2025

Fusing of the HDPE pipe is finished and the pipe is ready to be pulled underneath the St. Joseph River once the reaming process has been completed. Crews are continuing the reaming process throughout this week. The first pass with a 24” reaming head has been completed and a second pass with a 36” reaming head is under way. Subsequent passes with increasing reaming head sizes will continue until the final 48” reaming pass before the pipe is pulled into place. The pipe pull back is anticipated next week.

Riverview Drive remains closed between Empire and Grey Street. Riverview Drive between Grey Street and Britain Ave remains accessible to local businesses.

Drilling rig

24” reaming head

Pipeline assembly

February 3, 2025

The pilot bore underneath the St Joseph River was successfully completed. Crews are now reaming the pilot bore path in preparation for pulling the pipe into place. Reaming refers to the process of enlarging the existing pilot hole to a larger diameter to accommodate the large pipe size. The reaming process is anticipated to continue over the next two weeks.

Fusing of the HDPE pipe has begun and will continue through the end of the week. A tent enclosure was constructed around the fusing machine to mitigate cold weather impacts to the fusing process.

Pulling head assembly

Pilot bore completion

Drilling rig

Pipe fusing

Pipeline assembly

January 23, 2025

Construction on the project has begun! The first item of construction will be installation of the new pipeline below the river by horizontal directional drilling. The directional drilling process begins with a pilot bore to establish the path under the river. After the pilot bore is complete, the path will be enlarged with a reaming process and the pipe will be pulled into place. Crews have begun setting up for the directional drilling process and plan to begin the pilot bore later this week. The pipe materials have also been delivered and will be fused together on site to form a continuous pipeline ready for installation. The pipe fusing will happen at the same time as the pilot boring so that the pipeline will be fully assembled and ready to be pulled under the river.

Riverview Drive will soon be closed with a traffic detour following Empire Ave, 11th Street, and Britain Ave as shown on the Stage 1 Detour Map.

Benton Charter Township - St. Joseph River Crossing Sewer Project

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