This 7,000 LF gravity interceptor replacement sewer crosses three distinctive areas: Park Road Park – one of themost popular parks in Charlotte, an older residential neighborhood – home to the Mayor of Charlotte and a memorywellness day center, and an active commercial development. Blasting of over 40,000 psi strength rock and installingthree Microtunnel Boring Machine (MTBM) tunnels, this project required a special rubric to public relations.The 24/7 MTBM tunneling operations required special sound barrier walls during night work to meet the City’snoise ordinance. The MTBM staging footprint was laid out to allow ingress/egress of traffic to the commercial areaand maintain traffic on a city street at all times for safety. At one point in time, the pressurized slurry during acrossing beneath twin 72” culverts resulted in a discharge into the creek, creating an unforeseen public relationschallenge.Charlotte Water’s approach to PR was to maintain an active website, keep a log of homeowners’ complaints,mailers, and utilize on-site construction observation personnel to engage with the property owners almost daily.Charlotte Water maintained almost constant contact via public meetings at the onset of the project, attending HOAmeetings, and one-on-one meetings with property owners.There were many lessons learned throughout this CMAR project. Despite an ardent approach to public relations,issues arose and some stakeholders were not pleased, despite the focus, responsiveness and solutions that CharlotteWater implemented. The adage, “you can’t please everyone” holds true even with projects designed to help thepublic.
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