Arlington County this year will begin a years-long effort to replace its aging underground storm-water system, a feat that will require digging up some streets to reach an extensive network of deteriorating or too-small pipes.
County staff are still working out the logistics of replacing 215 miles of the county’s 360-mile underground pipe network, which is reaching the end of its 50-year life, but plans have already been drawn up for some of the most critical projects.
Failures in Arlington’s corrugated pipes and culverts have racked up multimillion-dollar replacement costs, caused traffic disruptions and threatened public safety over the past few years, officials said.
A major storm in June 2006 overwhelmed the storm-water system’s capacity, flooding more than 300 homes and prompting the county to develop a plan for replacing the system.
The county board voted last month to use 1 cent of a 3-cent increase in the real estate tax to overhaul the system and expand its capacity — a plan that is expected to cost $25 million over the next six years.
County staff will spend the next two years developing a master plan for the replacements but have begun scheduling five of the most critical projects, a few of which could begin in 2009.
Many of the projects will necessarily affect the county’s roads.
“I’m sure it will have some impact on the streets in the immediate vicinity, but like any construction, it would definitely be done in consultation with the folks in the neighborhood,” county environmental planner Jeff Harn said.
“But during that time when the street’s dug up and they’re replacing pipes, that will cause some inconvenience, that’s inevitable,” Harn said.
The county could begin replacing pipes under John Marshall Drive at Lee Highway as soon as next year — a project that officials estimate may take less than a year to complete, he said.
In 2010, drivers could see two-year-long projects along 33rd Road North and 34th Street North to Williamsburg Boulevard, and at North Sycamore Street and 24th Street North.
A larger project at Spout Run is not scheduled to begin for another five years, and staff are still completing design work for a major project between Washington Boulevard, Interstate 66 and the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.
