What’s all that digging on the Bluffton University campus? Why is Elm Street closed to traffic?

There’s construction work in progress, but what’s its purpose?

Here's the answer:

The project involves a $1.4 million village-funded project that replaces a major Bluffton sewer line that is out of date and in need of serious repair.  The project involves nearly one-third of the village’s sewers.

The project, aptly called the “west side sewer interceptor project” replaces the original sewer line installed in the early 1950s. The line involves approximately 3,495 linenar feet of pipe, ranging from 12 inch to 24 inch.

Beaverdam Construction Inc., was awarded the bid for the project. The completion deadline is this fall, however work is moving along much quicker than anticipated.

The project starting point was near Ropp and Bren-Dell halls on the Bluffton University campus. It runs on the west side or Riley Creek, through campus. It will eventually connect to the sewer plant on Spring Street near the Buckeye.

It’s called an interceptor line because other sewer lines connect to it to carry flow to the sewer plant.

The project is funded by a one-quarter percent income tax approved by village voters in 2013. The tax runs for 15 years.

The interceptor line carries sewer waste only. Originally, rainwater, unnecessarily, also ran through village sewer lines to the plant.

Over the past 20 years the village has separated rainwater from building runoff and from street drains, which originally flowed to the sewer plant. Now that water runs directly into the Riley by flowing into streets to the creek.