Traveling down Black Point Road this fall, residents of Scarborough may be wondering what’s going on behind the lines of orange cones, funneling traffic into one lane.

The project, which will last through mid-November, is the rehabilitation of a deteriorating sewer pipe, which carries 80 percent of Scarborough’s wastewater to the treatment plant near Prouts Neck. Due to innovative technology, the pipe does not need to be replaced. Instead, a liner made of felt that is as strong as the pipe itself is being inserted, saving the taxpayers money and creating a relatively minor inconvenience, according to sanitary district superintendent Gary Lorfano.

The pipe was installed in the early 1980s. In 2001, the district became aware that corrosive gases were beginning to eat away at it. At the time, the district was focusing on bringing utilities to Haigis Parkway, a project that took precedent over the sewer rehabilitation, and so it got put off until now.

Along with the sanitary district, Insituform Technologies, of Charlton, Mass., and Earth Tech, a South Portland firm, are working together to keep the project running smoothly.

The liner is being inserted by the employees of Insituform in 600-foot sections, which is why the coned-off site is creeping up Black Point Road. The felt is impregnated with resin materials that harden when exposed to high temperatures. After the felt is inserted into the pipe, steam is forced into it, which hardens the felt and attaches it to the pipe. As each section of liner is being inserted, wastewater cannot run through that part of the pipe. Pumps and piping are being used to move the water around the section being lined.

As each section is being worked on, residents who connect to the sewer in that section have to limit their water use for 12 to 18 hours. Though passers-by may be clueless about the project, according to Aubrey Strause, the environmental engineer from Earth Tech who is working on the project, the residents of Black Point Road have been kept well-informed about what’s happening on their street.

“One of Earth Tech’s roles is to make sure everyone knows what’s going on,” Strause said. “People have been very, very cooperative.”

According to Strause, having sufficient flaggers direct traffic, working with public safety and public works and cooperating with neighbors all are helping the project run smoothly. She said there haven’t been any sewage backups, and there has only been one odor complaint. Strause said many of the neighbors have been curious to know more about the project, and she has been happy to show them around the site.

“Most of the residents have been very excited,” she said.

Insituform lines pipes all over the country, and has participated in projects in South Portland and Bar Harbor.

“They basically wrote the book on this kind of technology,” Lorfano said.

The Scarborough project is unique because of the size of the pipe, which varies between 30 and 36 inches in diameter, and runs nearly a mile and a half down the road.

“This is a major project for Maine,” said Strause.

According to Lorfano, the project, which costs about $1.3 million, is being paid for out of the district’s fixed asset replacement reserves, which means it will not affect the user rate, which is $82.50 per quarter for Scarborough residents on the sewer system. To replace the pipe completely would cost about three times as much money, and the project would take about a year to complete.

“It represents a lot of bang for the buck,” Strause said about lining the pipe rather than replacing it.

After the project’s completion, Lorfano said, the new pipe should stay clean and keep wastewater running smoothly for at least another 30 years.