ROCK SPRINGS – An emergency sewer line repair project was approved by the Western Wyoming Community College Board of Trustees Thursday night.

The project will address a critical failure in the basement sewer line involving deteriorated cast iron piping. Chris Dever, director of physical resources for the college, said the issue resulted in the grease trap beneath the T-Rex Grill leaking and caused wastewater to seep into the basement area. Dever said the possibility of a line failure was known, and plans were in place to reroute sewage and connect the grease trap to the recently completed sewer line located behind the college’s atrium. However, the failure occurred before that could be accomplished. Dever said the issue has resulted in health concerns.

The T-Rex Grill will close Friday, with Dever saying a time frame is possible that would see the project completed before students return in August, allowing the T-Rex Grill to open with the fall semester. 

The college board approved a resolution that would call for bids for the work that would not be done in-house. The total cost of the project is not to exceed $165,000. The total cost is believed to be below $150,000, but a 10% contingency was added to address unforeseen issues that may arise during the project. 

The repair is the latest in a series of projects undertaken to address aging infrastructure at the Rock Springs campus. Along with maintenance and renovations within the main campus itself, the college has also been forced to replace sewer pipes within Snowy Range Residence Hall and White Mountain Residence Hall. The work at Snowy Range kept the building from being condemned after sewage leaked from deteriorated piping that had seeped into the building’s sheetrock. 

Funding for this sewer project will come from the college’s major maintenance funds. Dever also said the state has been great to work with in helping locate funding to mitigate age-related issues at the college.

“We’re fixing a lot of stuff,” Dever said.