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City Sewers Completed Construction
Buckingham Road Sewer Project
The City of Los Angeles was mandated by an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others to replace an existing, underground sewage pumping plant located at the southeast corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Buckingham Road. The plant was replaced by a sewer that was built under Buckingham Road.
The pumping plant was old and dilapidated and its reliability was questionable. The failure of a sewage pumping plant can be very bad for local neighbors and the environment. The new 3,500-foot sewer runs under Buckingham Road from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Exposition Boulevard, where it has been connected to the recently completed East Central Interceptor Sewer.
The Buckingham Road Sewer Project used microtunneling technology to dig the underground tunnel where the sewer pipe was installed. The construction pits were located at key points along Buckingham Road. Most other work will took place below ground.
GALLERY
Click on each "thumbnail" photo below to view work in progress
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Work begins in the residential neighborhood along Buckingham Ave.
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Workers excavate a jacking pit. The tunnel was dug from the bottom of the pit and sewer pipe was placed in the tunnel.
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A pipe segment is lowered into the jacking pit. |

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A look down the bottom of the jacking pit where the microtunneling machine is visible. |
QUICK FACTS
| Size, Length, Maintenance Holes
- 24-inch diameter pipe
- 3,500 feet long
- 11 maintenance holes
Special Features
- Designed to feed flows from the local community into the new East Central Interceptor Sewer
- Microtunneling was used to minimize disruption to neighbors of construction
- Dilapidated pumping plant was removed and the sidewalk repaired at MLK and Buckingham
Construction
- Work began in May 2005 and continued until summer 2006
- Work hours were 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Contractor: James W. Fowler, Co.
- Contract amount: $5 million
- Construction managed by City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering, Major Sewers Construction Group, Hans Chang, Project Engineer
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Major Challenges
- Working in close proximity to residences
- Traffic impacts along Buckingham Road
- Some impact to sidewalks and curbs; was repaired at the end of the project
Mitigation Measures
- Low noise-generating equipment and/or sound barriers
- Daily street sweeping
- Safety enclosures around all excavation
- Safe and adequate pedestrian and vehicle access was maintained at all times to residences, businesses, and fire hydrants
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