The Brighton City Council hopes to install new sanitary sewer for a portion of Rickett Road, and at the same time repave Rickett from the south city limits to Church St., and from there, to Grand River.

City officials say the work is needed because of the partial collapse of an 80-year-old sewer line last year on Rickett north of the railroad tracks, followed by another partial collapse further down the road. The city made temporary repairs, but city DPW Director Marcel Goch says if a new sewer line isn’t installed soon to fix the problem permanently, the sewer line will rupture again, and this time it could be a total collapse. Goch tells WHMI the city is applying for two grants to help defray the cost of the project.

Goch says the city is fortunate that the second grant just became available because Brighton stands a very good chance of being awarded it. The sewer work will involve replacing 650 feet of 8-inch sewer line, with an additional 750 feet of cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) to be installed to line the remainder of sewer main on Rickett Road, south to the southern city limits just past Oak Ridge Drive, and north to Grand River. Council approved motions to award the design and engineering work for both the sanitary sewer project on Rickett south and north of the railroad tracks and the related street overlay project on Rickett and Church Street to Tetra Tech for $118,500.

The grants for which the city is applying are both from Michigan Transportation Economic Development Fund: one, for $250,000, requiring a 50% match, and the other, a $375,000 grant being offered in 2021, requiring a 20% match. (TT)