Trenchless Projects in the Borough of Queens Minimizes Disruption
Maintaining the extensive sewer system throughout the five boroughs of New York City is a full-time endeavor. Public works construction repairs create work zones with significant concerns for both the general public and construction workers. Traffic disruptions in major cities, like NewYork City, are frequently met by the public with anger, disgust, and frustration. In Queens, there are two recent projects where this was of particular concern. Originally designed and bid as open cut installations, these projects addressed flood mitigation and sewer improvements. To maintain public safety and convenience as well as essential worker safety, Northeast Remsco Construction, of Wall Township, N.J., chose to value Engineer these crossing projects to trenchless technologies including microtunneling and sliplining. During the Summer of 2020, one of New York City’s major capital improvement projects required Northeast Remsco to install an 85-inch diameter storm sewer below Queens Boulevard at 69th Street. This project location is where Queens Blvd is eight lanes wide and includes three pedestrian medians and two bike lanes – the widest and busi- est street requiring open cut crossings – colloquially referred to as the “Boulevard of Death”. Due to the change to microtunneling technol- ogy, motorists and pedestrians remained unaware of the massive 85- inch pipe being installed 30 feet below them. Hobas pipe was chosen for this project due to the lightweight sections that are easy to handle and maneuver in the tight streets and under the LIRR overpass. The easy-to-assemble ends simplified the installation procedure for field personnel. NYC approved this installation for the same safety reasons, but realized the benefit of an extended service life and low maintenance costs. Northeast Remsco bore the tunnel with a laser guided hydraulic tunnel boring machine (TBM) followed by 250-feet of 10-foot sections of 85- inch diameter CCFRPM jacking pipe advanced by a jacking frame. The use of trenchless construction, which eliminated the need for extensive excavation and follow-up street reconstruction, accomplished this phase in one week, rather than the two plus months expected by open cut. A different project, in NYC’s extensive sewer and water rehabilita- tion program took Northeast Remsco to JFK International Airport in southern Queens. For this project, to reinforce a deteriorating sewer in the airport’s cargo area, the City learned that trenchless sliplining would be much more economical and far less disruptive to street traffic and airport operations than open cut replacement. Northeast Remsco utilized a hydraulic jacking frame to slipline 42-inch CCFRPM pipe within the deteriorating 48-inch concrete sewer line in a single 1,300-foot push under Nassau Expressway to a connecting chamber near South Conduit Avenue. The segmental pipe proved easy to install and able to handle the line’s approximate 10 million gallons
per day high capacity flow. The pipe was chosen as the sliplining mate- rial due to its long life, corrosion resistance, easy assembly and overall low life-cycle costs. While sliplining an existing pipe reduces its inner diameter, Hobas pipe’s smooth interior surface allows capacity flow to remain at the same levels or even increase. Northeast Remsco is the general contractor for New York City’s mas- sive flooding alleviation program throughout southeast Queens. The program is managed by the NYC Department of Design and Construc- tion and funded by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Water and Sewer. About Hobas Hobas CCFRPM (centrifugally cast, fiberglass reinforced, polymer mortar) pipe is the proven, ideal product for all trenchless pipe installa- tions and rehabilitations. Hobas Pipe USA is the leading manufacturer and supplier of 18” to 126” diameter CCFRPM pipe in North America and has become the first non-circular (NC) fiberglass pipe manufac- turer in the U.S. Their Houston, Texas facility has been manufacturing CCFRPM pipe since 1987 for municipal, industrial and energy infra- structure, and recently expanded their operation, providing 62,000 sq. ft. of production facility now under-cover. Hobas CCFRPM pipes fill a need that is even more pressing today in the “green” or sustainable movement. These pipes, which are strong, yet lightweight and inherently corrosion resistant, eliminate leaking joints, and require little maintenance over a long useful lifecycle while maximizing the value of infrastructure dollars.
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may 2021
csengineermag.com
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