Community has support, concerns for WSSC pipe

Construction could bring 24-hour truck traffic

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Members of a citizens group who attended a meeting last week supported a WSSC plan to install a five-mile water main through Bethesda, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have questions.

Attendance was lighter at the Aug. 16 meeting than at two previous meetings, but the 15 members of the Citizens Advisory Committee who attended drilled Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission representatives on the logistics of drilling and constructing the underground pipe.

They wanted to know how construction would affect traffic, what noises those living nearby would hear and many other specifics.

WSSC and officials from the engineering firms involved in the process did what they could to answer the questions but admitted that there are some unknowns.

‘‘At the beginning of the process I expect there’s going to be some issues and we’ll have to work those out,” said WSSC Project Manager Jim Mitchell.

A group of county officials recommended in late July that WSSC build the water main, known as the Clean Water Connection, close to I-270 and the Capital Beltway.

The pipe will connect existing pipes originating at the Potomac Water Filtration Plant in Potomac with pipes in Kensington. The new main is needed because of increasing demand in Prince George’s County and the eastern part of Montgomery County.

One of the major concerns voiced at the meeting was about truck traffic near the largest of the four construction sites. The working shaft site, planned for an area just north of the Connecticut Avenue cloverleaf on I-495, will be used 24 hours a day for close to three years. That’s where the tunnel-digging machine will be lowered into the ground and where trucks will line up to haul dirt away.

‘‘Every ounce of dirt that is in that tunnel will need to come out of that shaft,” Mitchell said.

He estimated that 30 to 35 dump trucks per day would leave the working shaft site during the height of tunnel excavation, which will take 12 to 18 months.

Once the tunnel has been dug, the pipes will be fitted into it and fastened together. The entire construction process is expected to take about three years.

During the installation of the pipe, residents can expect one to five tractor-trailers a day near the shaft sites.

The homes along Glenmoor Drive near Kensington Parkway are the only ones near the working shaft site.

Mitchell assured audience members that WSSC would repair any roads damaged by the heavy trucks. He also said that once a contractor is hired for the project, details can be worked out to minimize the effect of the construction on the community.

Community members turned in forms at the end of the meeting indicating whether they wanted to remain on the advisory committee or leave. WSSC will invite others to join a re-formed committee composed of residents who will be more directly affected by the construction.

The pipe’s recommended path takes it south from its origin at the intersection of Tuckerman Lane and I-270. It will stay close to I-270 and I-495 until it ties into existing pipes near the Mormon Temple on Stoneybrook Drive in Kensington. The pipe’s construction will affect many communities in the downcounty, including Bethesda, Kensington and Garrett Park.

It will be constructed 150 to 300 feet underground, with all construction taking place through four shafts located along the length of the project.

Mitchell emphasized that WSSC wants to maintain an open dialogue with the community about the project. He said more meetings will be scheduled to discuss the plans with communities.

In the meantime, engineers are beginning geophysical testing to determine the depth and type of rock so they can design the intricate details of the project.

The plans will be forwarded to the Montgomery and Prince George’s county councils, which must also approve them before construction can begin.