A cyclist rides past a “Trail closed” sign, not yet in place, on the Tennessee Riverwalk on Saturday. A section of the popular recreation area between the Chickamauga Dam and the Hubert Fry Fishing Center will be be closed for two weeks beginning Monday to repair a collapsed drain pipe.
John Sparks looks back at markings indicating the location of a collapsed drain pipe as he pushes his wife, Donna, on the Riverwalk on Saturday.Construction begins today on a section of the Tennessee Riverwalk, closing it for repairs for the next two weeks.
Repairs are needed on one of Chattanooga State Community College’s drainage pipes, which collapsed and needs to be replaced. This repair will cause a portion of the Riverwalk between the Chickamauga Dam and the Fry Center to be closed.
A 36-inch corrugated metal galvanized drain line that runs from a swampy area near Chattanooga State’s Health Science Building to the river has rusted over time, said Steve Huskins, assistant vice president, plant operations and facility planning at Chattanooga State.
The pipe is buried 20 feet in and will have to be dug out and replaced, along with the section of the Riverwalk that will be torn up during the process of replacing the pipe, Huskins said.
This is the first time that a pipe of this size has rusted on the school’s campus, according to Huskins. He does not think the pipe has been replaced in the 30 years since the campus was built.