Lexington officials gave an update on a sewer improvement project in the city’s Gainesway neighborhood. It comes as they prepare to shut down the Gainesway-Greentree Road intersection.
The city’s Division of Water Quality is preparing to close the area off to traffic as they replace and upsize its sewer line.
It’s part of a series of improvements that began in 2011 as part of a federal consent decree from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA sued Lexington in 2006 for being in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Greentree Road will stay closed to through traffic from Gainesway to New Circle Road until the end of April. The intersection itself will reopen by March 31.
Division of Water Quality Director Charles Martin said during a press conference it’s to stop sewer overflows during rainy weather.
“It's not providing capacity for new development, this is all pretty stable area, it's for all the water that seems to get into the system when it rains,” Martin said. “And instead of getting out of the system and into the creeks, it stays in the pipe and goes to the treatment plant like it's supposed to.”
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said during the same conference that stopping those overflows will help keep Lexington’s creeks safe from pollution.
“We know these projects can be inconvenient to people who live here, and a little painful,” Gorton said. “It's important to remember though, that we're protecting the environment and cleaning up our city.”
Similar upcoming projects to prevent sewer overflow around the city include work on Tates Creek Road and off Harrodsburg Road.
Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works is a sponsor of WEKU.
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