City of Elizabethton
Doe River Crossing Water Line Improvements
The Doe River Crossing Water Line follows what used to be the Tweetsie Railroad, and it carries 70% of the City of Elizabethton’s water. The railroad construction began in 1882, and the water line was originally installed in 1920, which makes it over a hundred years old. As the City grew and needed more water for the residents, they installed a second line that ran alongside the first. These lines cross the Doe River a few times, and since they were laid so long ago, the installations were not perfect. McGill’s water team, headed by Jamie Carden in Knoxville, Tennessee, wanted to help the City of Elizabethton by connecting the existing 12-inch and 16-inch lines fed from Hampton Springs and installing parallel 12-inch lines along the right-of-way and under the Highway 19E Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) bridge. McGill established geodetic survey control and laid out property boundaries for construction easements and within the road right-of-way for US Highway 321. Our surveying team conducted topographic site mapping of the Doe River bridge and its water line route. We also completed full site mapping of the above ground planimetric features, contacted TN 811, mapped piping networks, and produced a Doe River cross section mapping of both the up and downstream for flood modeling. We helped the City apply for Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funding and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
The Challenge
What is now known as the Tweetsie Trail was originally the Tweetsie, or ET&WNC, Railroad Line, which was set to operate from Johnson City, Tennessee to Cranberry, North Carolina. Locals who lived near the train started calling it Tweetsie because of the “tweet tweet” train whistles that sounded in the hills, and the name stuck. The Tweetsie Trail is currently undergoing an expansion, which is expected to be completed in 2025. The expansions will take the trail over this section of the Doe River.
The railroad moved through the rough terrain and river crossings of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so when the water line was placed alongside it, the line followed the same terrain. When we started working on this project, we were permitted to run the water line on the bridge that crosses the Doe River instead of going through the river. Going through the river would have required many environmental permits and explorations, and attaching the line to the bridge keeps it safe from flooding disasters. While we knew the existing water line ran alongside the railroad, we had a hard time knowing and figuring out exactly how deep the line was buried. Since the original line was laid so long ago and without many in-house files, our team supplemented maps of the existing water lines with coordinated pre-construction excavations to better locate the line. This required a lot of guesswork, which was the most challenging part of the project.
Our Solution
While the maps were not completely accurate in marking the existing water line installations, our team was able to use them as guides for where the installations were likely located. Our solution was to find one installation point and then work down site, moving toward the river once we had a line to follow. This process involved some trial and error, but it led us to success. Another key part of our solution was keeping in close communication with the City of Elizabethton and TDOT. Working so closely with the City also helped our team keep the end goal in mind, which was to ensure the people of Elizabethton have a safe, reliable water source for years to come.
The Results
We successfully installed two water lines on the bridge that crosses the Doe River, and so the City of Elizabethton has a reliable water source for their future. At McGill, we like to focus on resiliency, which means focusing on working with communities to make smart changes that guide them toward a better future. We are pleased with this water line work and the way it will have a positive impact on the lives of people living in Elizabethton.
“I grew up in the Valley Forge community where the physical lines were installed and attended the adjacent elementary, middle, and high school. My mom currently lives half a mile from the site. If anything were to go south, I joked that even my mom would be out of water, which made it all very personal. It’s one of the oldest water systems in the state, and it was an honor to be able to come home and be a part of a fix.”
The railroad moved through the rough terrain and river crossings of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so when the water line was placed alongside it, the line followed the same terrain. When we started working on this project, we were permitted to run the water line on the bridge that crosses the Doe River instead of going through the river. Photo shows the beginning stages of construction.
Innovation
Customization
Commitment