The City of Meridian is moving forward with plans to replace a 24-inch sewer line after the city council on Tuesday agreed to add the pipe replacement to the Sela Ward Parkway revitalization project.

Public Works Director David Hodge told the council the city had tried to repair the pipe previously but was unable to fix the problem.

“It’s a big line, and it has to be replaced,” he said.

In December, the city had advertised the pipe replacement for bid, Hodge said, but no contractors submitted proposals for the work.

Sela Ward project manager Gabe Faggard said the sewer line would need to be replaced before paving on Sela Ward begins or the city would have to come back later and dig up the road again to access the pipe.

Since no contractor bid on the project, Faggard said the contractor working on Sela Ward was asked to give cost estimate to roll the pipe replacement into their current project.

“The prime contractor went out and got quotes for the work,” he said. “We reviewed those quotes and found them to be acceptable, and we’re recommending that the city add this work to that contract.”

To speed up the process, the city asked the council to declare a state of emergency, which allows the city to make the repairs without going through the bid process. Faggard said the work would take time to complete, and the city needed to get the project rolling to avoid delaying the Sela Ward Parkway project.

“We’re months away from going out for paving that street, and it’s going to take a little time to get this work moving,” he said.

The cost to replace the collapsed sewer line was quoted at $407,124, Hodge said, with funding coming from the consent degree budget.