Wooden water main from the 1800s found in Traverse City

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- A wooden water main from the late 1800s has been discovered in Traverse City.

Construction crews found the wooden pipe while digging up Eighth Street this week.

It reportedly runs all the way down the street and was used to pump water through the city.

While this is not the first wooden pipe crews have found, it is reportedly the biggest, and was built to take on large amounts of water.

"What they do is hollow out wood logs and then wrap them or band them in steel or copper. The ones we find are typically steel," said Tonya Wildfong, Team Elmer's communications director. "Some actually even have copper lining on the inside, these don't, they're just wood. The reason they band them with steel or copper is it increases the PSI, the pressure per square inch."

While businesses are open in this area, Team Elmers wants to remind people not to drive or walk through the construction site.

Construction is expected to last until mid-October.