Photo Provided Crews from James White Construction Company of Weirton this week began work to repair a problematic sanitary sewer line on Valley View Avenue in Wheeling. A portion of the roadway is expected to be closed to public traffic for three weeks.

WHEELING — Leaking sewer issues along Valley View Avenue in Wheeling are expected to be resolved in the near future as work crews this week began a project to repair faulty lines.

Officials in the city of Wheeling first acknowledged the problem back in April of this year.

Initially, some assumed that sudden sewer smells in the neighborhood stemmed from major storm sewer and sanitary sewer projects that had been taking place in the Valley View neighborhood and along Wheeling Creek. However, it was determined that faulty sanitary sewer lines were the source of the issue.

After residents began complaining of the foul smell, the city at the end of April issued a public notice about it, stating: “The city of Wheeling was made aware of a sewage odor in the area of Valley View Avenue. Testing was done by the city’s Water Pollution Control Division, and elevated levels of fecal matter were detected in the storm drains.

\City officials are addressing the problem and have been working with engineering and construction firms to correct the situation that may have been caused by aging infrastructure. All protocols for such a scenario are being followed.”

While the major infrastructure improvement projects in the neighborhood were not the cause of the problem, raw sewage from the broken lines was leaching into the newly constructed storm sewer system in the neighborhood.

Last year, the James White Construction Company of Weirton was awarded a $700,314 contract for the Valley View storm sewer project. Cast and Baker Corporation of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $1,649,905 contract for the Valley View sanitary sewer project in the same neighborhood. Both projects were funded with a portion of the city of Wheeling’s federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Members of Wheeling City Council subsequently approved an extension to the James White Construction Company contract to fix the problem sewer line in the area. The $40,000 contract was approved in June, and work began this week. The work is also being completed with ARPA funding

“We had received complaints about some fecal matter that had made its way into the storm sewer,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said when the contract extension was presented to council. “This is outside the scope of the Valley View Storm Sewer Project. This contract will fix that problem. This is a reaction to some issues that had occurred – a line cracked.”

Vice Mayor Jerry Skavounakis, who represents the Ward 4 neighborhood in the Valley View area, noted that these issues were brought to his attention soon after they occurred this past spring.

“I know exactly where this is, and I have had a lot of communications with the residents back there,” Sklavounakis said. “I appreciate everyone on city staff for getting this on the agenda. I think it’s going to absolutely help.”

The city announced that because of the sanitary sewer work, the block of Valley View Avenue from the intersection with Duquesne Avenue to the intersection with Eureka Avenue will be closed to public traffic for three weeks beginning this week. Weather or unforeseen circumstances could impact the project schedule, city leaders noted.

A detour through the residential neighborhood has been established.