Weirton sanitary officials are moving on to the next phase in a major sewer project that reroutes lines from the Ohio River to the treatment plant.

They just wrapped up Phase One, where most of the work happened in the Arcelor-Mittal property. Workers ripped up asphalt for months to reroute a sewage mishap from decades before.

"We're basically done with the interconnection. Those roughly 1,000 homes and structures that were depositing their sewer flow in the Ohio River have now been diverted. It's all coming back here to the Weirton Sanitary Plant," said Butch Mastrantoni, the Weirton City Utilities director.

Mastrantoni said the work didn't come without its challenges from weather and other surprises.

"Whenever you have a footprint of industrial entities … that occupies any area for over a 100 years, one doesn't know what they're going to confront when you begin digging in the ground," said Mastrantoni.

The $6 million project is approaching its second phase along Main Street, which impacts residents more directly.

"Phase Two will begin at the northern most end of the city and actually extend 25,000 or 26,000 linear feet of pipe all the way down here to Freedom Way to our main treatment facility," said Mastrantoni.

They plan to be mindful of upcoming summer events downtown, and Mastrantoni said they will try to do the work in stages.

Sanitation officials said they have to get approval from several state and environmental agencies before they start work on Main Street.