Several streets in neighborhoods near San Diego State will be torn up for short periods over the next four years so the city can widen and upgrade sewer and water lines that lead to the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant.

While community leaders don’t welcome the disruption, they are supporting the $70 million project because the city is taking a proactive approach that will reduce the likelihood of pipe ruptures in coming years and decades.

“By taking care of the sewers now in coordinated fashion, you don’t end up with mega disasters,” Jose Reynoso, chairman of the College Area Planning Group, said by phone Monday. “The problem is we have so many issues with sewer pipes degrading because they are so old.”

An example, Reynoso said, is a recent pipe problem on Reservoir Drive at Montzeuma Road that has forced a lane closure lasting several months.