After more than ten years of infrastructure issues, the City of Amarillo is finally nearing the end of a long-standing sewer line repair project near Hillside. At a recent city council meeting, officials approved the final stages of work to fix a 30-inch sewer pipe that first collapsed in 2014.
The sewer line, located near Hillside Elementary, had been left in a state of partial disrepair and abandonment after portions of the 4,000-foot pipeline degraded and collapsed over time. The deterioration not only interrupted essential wastewater services but also posed environmental and public health risks.
“Obviously, when you have a collapsed sewer, there was a discharge of wastewater,” said Floyd Hartman, Assistant City Manager for the City of Amarillo. “We worked with consultants for remediation and monitoring to ensure the environment and public are safe.”
The saga dates back nearly a decade, when the city initially attempted to replace the damaged line. However, the project was halted due to performance issues, ultimately leading to a legal dispute. In 2017, the City of Amarillo filed a lawsuit against the original contractor and the pipe manufacturer responsible for the faulty infrastructure. A settlement was eventually reached, allowing the city to recoup part of the financial losses and move forward with planning.
Now, with legal matters behind them and engineering plans in hand, the city is preparing to break ground on the final repair phase. Officials say contractors will begin work after the school year ends to minimize disruption for students and families at nearby Hillside Elementary School.
“The next step is completing the paperwork and contracts, and then contractors will determine where exactly to begin. We believe that will likely be in front of Hillside Elementary,” said Hartman.
The project is expected to begin in the fall or winter, following the formal issuance of a "notice to proceed." The estimated cost for the final construction phase is approximately $16 million—an amount closely aligned with the funds recovered in the 2017 settlement.
City officials emphasized the importance of thorough environmental monitoring throughout the repair process. “This is the ongoing verification that the citizens are safe and that the environment is protected,” Hartman added.
The long-overdue repairs aim to finally bring closure to a critical public works issue that has impacted the area for over a decade. Once complete, residents and city leaders alike hope the project will restore reliability to the city's sewer infrastructure and prevent future failures of this scale.
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