News · Traverse City
South Airport Road sewer main replacement starts Nov. 9 near Logan’s Landing: expect westbound lane closures during a $1.77 million, three-week job
TRAVERSE CITY — Drivers on South Airport Road should plan for lane closures starting Monday, Nov. 9, when crews begin replacing the sewer force main that failed under the road near Logan’s Landing this summer.
Garfield Township trustees voted at their Oct. 27 meeting to award the $1.77 million construction contract to Team Elmer’s after public bidding, The Ticker and the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported. The township’s engineer, Jennifer Graham of Gourdie-Fraser, said the job should take about three weeks.
The westbound lanes are where most of the work is. The old pipe runs under the westbound, northern lane of South Airport Road from Logan’s Landing up the hill to Park Drive, according to the township’s bid documents.
What crews will do
About 1,400 feet of pipe will be replaced. The township chose a trenchless method, boring the new line underground rather than digging an open trench, to limit the effect on traffic, Graham said, though lane closures are still likely. The bid package also calls for new asphalt on a stretch of both westbound lanes, a short open-cut tie-in near the existing pipe, a new manhole and a drilled sewer crossing under Park Drive. Sewage will be pumped around the work zone while the new line is installed.
The contract sets a Dec. 15 deadline for the work to be substantially complete, with final topsoil, seeding and other restoration due by May 30, 2027, according to the bid documents.
Why the pipe is being replaced
The force main dates to the 1970s. Part of it cracked in August, and 9&10 News reported at the time that more than 20,000 gallons of sewage reached the Boardman River. The township made emergency repairs, and field checks found more trouble spots tied to the pipe’s material and how shallow it is buried, the bid documents say. Trustees approved about $187,000 for engineering in September.
The line carries sewage from the township’s Pump Station No. 2 area and serves about 2,500 customers, with a peak flow of about 700 gallons a minute, Graham told trustees. The new pipe is sized for up to 1,400 gallons a minute to allow for growth. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this once,” she said.
A separate warning from the township
At the same meeting, Township Manager Chris Barsheff warned of a phishing scheme aimed at people with business before the township. About a dozen applicants have received realistic-looking letters, built from details in online meeting packets, that ask for payment; one included a $3,800 invoice. Nobody is known to have paid, he said. The township has pulled planning commission and zoning appeals packets off its website for now; they are available by request.
Sources:
The Ticker, “Garfield Trustees Talk Phishing Scheme, Upcoming South Airport Work, Liquor License” (Oct. 30, 2026; contract, start date, length, trenchless method, capacity, Graham quote, phishing scheme), https://www.traverseticker.com/news/garfield-trustees-talk-phishing-scheme-upcoming-south-airport-work-liquor-license/
Traverse City Record-Eagle, “GARFIELD TOWNSHIP: Sewer main replacement begins Nov. 9” (Nov. 3, 2026; westbound lanes, Oct. 27 vote), https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/garfield-township-sewer-main-replacement-begins-nov-9/article_bf06409e-ae4f-493f-bdbe-23cecc66274b.html
Gourdie-Fraser for the Charter Township of Garfield, “South Airport Road Forcemain Replacement” request for proposals (pipe location, length, 1970s construction, scope, bypass pumping, completion dates), https://www.gfa.tc/media/uploads/26273_south_airport_rd_fm_replacement_rfp.pdf
9&10 News, “Garfield Township approves $1.6 million repair plan for South Airport Road” (Sept. 8, 2026; August break, sewage released), https://www.9and10news.com/2026/09/08/garfield-township-approves-16-million-repair-plan-for-south-airport-road/
Photo: gabe popa, “Boardman River - Traverse City, Michigan (22410904091).jpg,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boardman_River_-_Traverse_City,_Michigan_(22410904091).jpg
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