Construction began the first week of November 2025 in Hartford, Conn., to rehabilitate the city's downtown sewers, a portion of which was originally built in the 1800s.
Crews started the first of three phases of the sewer rehab project on Nov. 4, a process that the Hartford Courant noted was expected to last three weeks.
Hartford's Metropolitan District (MDC) said that the city's historic Central Row is closed eastbound from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the weekdays and vehicular traffic is being detoured around the job site; however, adjacent businesses and sidewalks are remaining open for pedestrians. Normal traffic will return following each construction shift.
The city's MDC is a non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly to provide potable water and sewerage services.
The agency and its contractors, VMS Construction of Vernon, Conn., and Insituform Technologies, are working on all three phases of the sewer improvements, which are expected to be completed by spring 2026.
During that time, crews will work in downtown Hartford on Central Row, Market Street and Main Street, but the Courant reported that no sewer service interruptions are expected.
The MDC said the initial phase of rehabilitation work, along Central Row between Main Street and the Prospect Street intersection, is expected to take about three weeks. That includes "conducting test pits, lining manholes and replacing a portion of the existing sanitary sewer main," according to the water and sewer agency.
The Metropolitan District coordinated with the city of Hartford, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and CT Transit for the project.
The second phase of the sewer rehabilitation work is scheduled to begin in early December on Market Street from Kinsley to State Street, while the project's final phase is slated to take place on Main Street in front of the Connecticut State House Square and stretch south, just past the Travelers Building.
Hartford's current sewer rehabilitation program is "an effort to reduce extraneous infiltration of groundwater into the sewer system and extend the longevity of the system."
The Courant noted that the sewers being investigated and rehabilitated date back to 1865, an era in which the city's sewer network was constructed with brick.
Using Cured-In-Place Pipe Method On Third Phase
Plans call for the third phase of the work to overhaul the sewer with cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), a trenchless pipe repair method that creates a new, seamless pipe within an existing one without the need for excavation. Its curing process takes 16 hours, according to the Hartford newspaper, and the entire phase is only expected to last one week.
The MDC said it uses CIPP trenchless technology "in which a new pipe is installed within the older failing pipe — if the original pipe remains in good enough condition."
"The liner is then inflated to match diameter and shape of the host pipe," then cured' by either steam or hot water, the MDC noted in a project description on its website. "When cured, this liner becomes a new pipe, similar in characteristics to a segment of plastic pipe. Once the curing process is complete, existing connections from buildings or catch basins are reinstated by ‘cutting' the new cured pipe in the location of these connections."
Hartford's downtown sewer pipes are inspected by robotic cameras prior to attempting to install the pipe that is to be cured in place. If the infrastructure is failing, and that part of the pipe is excavated, it will be repaired before the curing can be performed.
When the CIPP method is used, crews will pull "a resin-impregnated felt-type liner through the host pipe."
In the Central Row areas, the MDC added that there will be excavation to access CCTV within the utility vault underneath the streets to determine any damage.
The agency added that the total cost of the Hartford sewer project is $18 million for all three parts of the work, which will be paid through several sources. The first phase is to cost $3.5 million, the second is $4 million and the third is $10.5 million.
