Swagelining’s versatility

Second time is the charm

The Foothills Water Transmission Line is the only feed from a pump station to a reservoir. A 12-inch HDPE bypass line installed on the ground carried water around the 2,600-foot project segment for about eight weeks.

To meet demands within the distribution system, the project was done in the winter at low-flow times. Temperatures as low as minus 10°F presented additional challenges.

Once again, CCTV was used to make sure there were no protrusions into the pipe, remaining service taps, and that it was clean before the pull.

The decision was made to pull the entire liner pipe in one pull, so two sections about 1,200 feet long were fused. Garney Construction of Kansas City, Mo., was the prime contractor.

There were issues on the first installation with the anchor blocking the dye, so a cast-in-place reinforced concrete anchor block was constructed.

After the challenges of the 24-inch line, there was fear and trepidation as we started pulling the 27-inch line. The day of the pull the two sections were fused together. This had to wait until the last day due to limitations of where we could string a pipe 2,500 feet long.

Pulling stated at 8 a.m. and was completed by 10 p.m. that day. Pulling was done at an average rate of 3 feet per minute. As opposed to the 24-inch line that jumped throughout, this pull was smooth and steady all day long.

When this article was written, it was the longest 27-inch pull done in the U.S. for liner subcontractor SAK Construction LLC of O’Fallon, Mo.

Next page: Two projects, six takeaways