A hole that developed more than a year ago in an Arnold subdivision will be repaired.
Arnold City Council members recently approved the final contract needed for work to start on a stormwater projected that will replace a collapsed pipe and fill in a giant hole behind a Woodridge Estate subdivision fourplex.
The hole formed at the 800 block of Woodridge Drive off Tenbrook Road following torrential rain on July 16, 2024. A corrugated metal stormwater pipe rusted, causing the back yards of four property owners to collapse.
Council members voted 7-0 on Dec. 4 to pay $234,413 to Girdner Contracting LLC of Sunset Hills to remove approximately 200 feet of rusted stormwater pipe and replace it with a concrete pipe that is 60 inches in diameter. Girdner also will fill in the hole and place rocks in a creek that runs behind the subdivision.
Ward 1 Councilman EJ Fleischmann was not at the meeting.
“They specialize in stormwater, sanitary and installations, which is what this project is,” James Pogorzelski, interim Public Works director, said of Girdner. “They have not done work for us before, but they are highly recommended after talking to their references.”
Pogorzelski said Girdner submitted the lowest of four bids for the project, which the city will pay for initially. However, subdivision residents will be required to repay the city.
The final cost will be divided among the 119 homes in the subdivision.
The total cost for the project may be as high as $483,994.
Arnold council members previously approved paying Civil Design Inc. of St. Louis $51,482 for civil engineering services and design work, and paying Missouri American Water $146,841 to replace 55 feet of sewer pipe that runs under the stormwater pipe.
Pogorzelski said some of the remediation work following the sewer and stormwater pipes’ repair may overlap, so the payment to Missouri American Water may be reduced.
“It depends on how much we overlap,” he said. “(Missouri American Water) may not do the full restoration. If we can get Girdner to come in right after them, it will knock the cost down. More than likely, it will go down some.”
Pogorzelski said Missouri American Water said it would begin work on the sewer pipe shortly after the start of next year. He said Missouri American Water officials said it would take a couple of weeks to replace the sewer pipe.
He said Girdner officials said it would take about a month to complete the stormwater pipe repairs.
“This is a big relief to have this going forward,” said Bonnie Smith, who lives in the fourplex in front of the hole but whose home is not directly in front of it. “The four of us who are attached, we can’t even sell our houses.
“Any time a house sells in the subdivision, we have to jump through hoops to make sure they know about this. We have a lot of paperwork that we have to fill out for a house to be sold.”
The hole was initially about 6 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Pogorzelski said it has expanded to approximately 20 feet wide and 12 feet deep since July 2024.
Carol Roberts, 78, whose home is next to the hole, said it has been hard living with the threat of the hole expanding for the last year and a half.
“It is frightening and frustrating,” she said. “It is next to me. I look out my back door and the hole is there.”
Pogorzelski said due to the hole being on private property, the city is only able to manage and initially pay for the project because there are utilities in the area that may be damaged if the repairs are not completed.
Pogorzelski said a gas line runs through the hole and an electrical box is close enough that it may fall into the hole, if it continues to expand.
“It is being done in the interest of public safety,” he said. “There is a large utility box a couple of feet from the hole. If that electric box were damaged, it would affect residents. There would be several residents who would not have power.”
Arnold City Administrator Anthony Traxler said residents will have the option to pay their share of the project’s cost at once or by having a traditional lien placed on their home.
“It basically gives them (homeowners) great flexibility in repayment,” he said. “The only forced payment would be if they refinanced or sold the home. If someone wants to stay in the house for 20 years and pay for it over a 20-year period, it gives them a tremendous amount of flexibility. It is a generous offer.”
The project
Missouri American Water will install 55 feet of 8-inch PVC pipe with 40 feet of 12-inch steel casing to replace its sewer pipe that runs under the stormwater pipe at an angle, according to city council documents.
Girdner will then remove the damaged stormwater pipe and replace it with a concrete pipe. The company will then fill in the hole.
Along with the pipe replacement, Girdner will place 457 square yards of rock in the creek bed to try and keep water from flowing into the yards in the subdivision.
“We are going on the upstream side and downstream side and line the whole creek with rock,” Pogorzelski said. “It will be a rock-lined creek bank instead of dirt. It will keep the water from eroding the sides of it. That way you shouldn’t get one weak spot and it have it leaking out the side.”
Arnold had tried to secure 10 easements for the project. An easement is a legal right that allows someone other than the property owner to use land for a specific purpose, such as accessing utilities or public roads.
However, Pogorzelski said the city was only able to reach agreements for nine of the easements. He said Arnold was unable to secure 1,053 square feet for a temporary construction easement from a Diane Drive resident. Diane Drive is behind Woodridge Drive.
“We will have the contractor work around that section,” he said.
Pogorzelski said it took a long time for the project to be arranged due to numerous factors.
“We had to get designs, do environmental studies and secure the easements,” he said. “We had to get Missouri American Water involved to see what they would let us do because it was over their sewer line. There were a lot of moving parts to it. It is not like a normal project that the city does by itself.”
Smith thanked city officials during the Dec. 4 council meeting for the work that went into lining up the repair project. She also asked city officials if they may help find additional financial support for the subdivision’s residents.
“As a homeowner, I appreciate every hour that has been put into this, and every person who has tried to help us,” she said. “I do want to ask if you know of any grant money, we would truly appreciate it. We are primarily a retirement community and the majority of us are on a fixed income. Whatever the cost of this shakes out to be, it is going to be a real blow to each homeowner financially.
“As a homeowner, I want to say thank you and let’s start the work.”