The City of Cullman will receive $5.7 million in state grants to help repair a sewer main that was critically damaged during the April 2011 tornadoes that wrecked the county.

Officials received word about the grant award a few days ago, after rushing last month to meet the accelerated application deadline for Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) funds that were set aside for Alabama recovery projects related to the April 2011 tornadoes.

A total of $49 million had been earmarked, and $25 million of that had to be spent in counties hit hardest by the deadly storms: Cullman, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, DeKalb, Franklin and Marion.

The city will use the funds to replace the 9,400-foot-long, 24-inch pipe that runs along Eight-Mile Creek and drains the entire north side of the city’s sewer system with a larger, 36-inch pipe. The project, which was submitted as a “critical need,” will also replace four smaller lines that feed into the main trunk line.

“This is just a tremendous award for Cullman and Cullman County, because that line serves everything from industry, to retail to local residents,” Cullman Mayor Max Townson said. “If that line were to fall into Eight Mile Creek, we would have serious problems. It’s great that we’ll have the help to get it taken care of.”

The exact cost of the project is estimated at $6.4 million, with a local match commitment of $715,435 for engineering and land acquisition costs.

Work is estimated to take approximately 18 months to complete, and must be finished within two years per the terms of the grant. The pipe routes do not require any roads to be closed or dug up, but city officials have been contacting the approximately 70 residents who live near the pipeline and could be affected by construction.

Officials learned about the pipe damage last year while surveying in the wake of the tornado, which ripped up trees that had provided protection and grounding for the main. Since that time, the engineers started looking at contingencies to repair the damage or replace the pipe — with hopes that grant funds might eventually come along to help fund the project.

“When we heard about the grant, we jumped on it and got the ball rolling as quickly as possible,” Townson said. “Thank goodness we already had an engineering firm working on it. From there, we just had meeting after meeting until we got everything ready.”

Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.