A Challenging Main Water Line Job
Trenchless Experts Since 1990
- A Challenging Main Water Line Job
The Port of Vancouver has a multitude of service lines including water, electrical, and communications traveling under 12 railway tracks serving the port.
The main contractor Lex Engineering who in turn subcontracted Drain Master to help develop a plan to re-establish these critical conduits under the railroad.
Drain Master was engaged to develop a plan and tools to open up these lines. These conduits had 4 offsets before the collapse which were located directly under active tracks.
We put together in their workshop a testbed with similar offsets.
Drain Master developed cutting heads and a driving mechanism to pass thru the offsets leading to the collapsed section of conduit.
A special head was designed that incorporated a camera, lighting, guide mechanisms, and a driver that could cut out the collapsed section.
A section of collapsed piping was produced in the house with grout surrounding the conduit to demonstrate the tools in action.
Key engineers from Neptune contractors along with Lex Engineering were invited to the demonstration.
The demonstration was successful and equipment was fine-tuned to move onto field operations.
Drain Master was dispatched and contracted to completely restore the underground conduits.
After several weeks, the coring of the conduits was completed.
In the midst of machining out the collapsed sections of conduits, it was noted that critical grout was not surrounding them.
This grout is meant to disperse the heat produced when high amounts of power are required by the equipment.
Drain Master was then engaged to plan and execute the method of getting grout around the conduits.
A test station was developed at the workyard so the engineers could view the process.
The process was approved and then executed by technicians from Drain Master Plumbers.
