Tryon’s long-awaited sewer trunk line replacement is over halfway complete after beginning construction in the spring.

Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis said the construction of the line has crossed over East Howard Street near Plumtree Lane with the installation over halfway complete as of last week.

Davis said so far there have not been any construction issues nor overruns in the budget.

The trunk line will be a replacement of the old line that the town had issues overflowing during heavy rains for many years.

After years of searching for a solution to the problem, including many tests of the line, Tryon was approved for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to help pay for the costs of a new, larger line. The total project was initially expected to be $701,907 with $537,738 coming from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and $164,169 coming from the town. The town is required to pay for part of the project because the state requires the line to be replaced with a 24-inch sewer line in order to handle the flows and the grant only allows for construction of lines up to 12 inches.

Tryon has fought the problem of overflows in the area during heavy rains. The town has conducted studies, worked with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and suffered several fines over the years from the state because of spills and overflows. The town and state finally determined the only permanent fix is to replace the line with a larger line. Tryon was initially denied for the CDBG funding, but state officials later received a waiver because of Tryon’s critical need.

Davis said he doesn’t have an exact date of completion but the grant has to be closed out by October.

Weather permitting, the project was initially said to take approximately six months to complete.