ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County will conduct planned blasting Tuesday afternoon at the Carrier Park cofferdam as part of its ongoing Carrier Bridge Pump Station replacement project.
City officials said blasting is scheduled to begin at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Carrier Park. Motorists and pedestrians are urged to use caution in the areas of Amboy Road and Carrier Park. Traffic in the immediate vicinity will be temporarily halted during blasting operations.
The work is part of MSD’s largest infrastructure project, replacing the Carrier Bridge Pump Station, which was built in 1966 and serves large portions of south and west Buncombe County and north Henderson County. The new station will increase capacity from 22 million gallons per day to 40 million gallons per day, based on projected flows through 2070, and will be expandable to 50 million gallons per day.
Project work at Carrier Park includes construction of a 40 mgd wastewater pump station with an odor control system, a 70-foot-deep excavation, and a 100-by-40-foot building at grade. Additional site development includes underground stormwater detention and two retaining walls. Crews are also installing about 800 linear feet of 60-inch inlet pipe and approximately 1,500 linear feet of parallel 36-inch force mains, along with two crossings of the French Broad River. Rehabilitation of about 2,000 linear feet of existing interceptor line on the east side of the river is also planned.
Construction activities increased in February to make up for weather-related delays in January. The Lyman Street cofferdam, which was previously flooded and partially washed away, has been restored to allow completion of in-river work.
Trench excavation and pipe installation will begin once blasting is complete.
Continuous material hauling is expected along Lyman Street and Amboy Road for the next four to six weeks. Restoration of riverbanks and the greenway will begin after the cofferdam removal is finished. Construction traffic is expected to remain steady near the pump station site and within the park as excavation of the force main trench continues.
The overall project carries an estimated cost of about $105 million.