Helpful Resources
|
Novato Face Lift
Novato, CA
Another California face-lift is under way. No, not an extreme makeover in the Hollywood Hills, this reconstructive surgery is taking place underground, 29 miles north of San Francisco in the City of Novato. Novato is undergoing a $10.7 million campaign to improve streets and sidewalks in its Old Town shopping and business district. The city’s goal is to renew the main street for its citizens and attract business back to the downtown area. This means new curbs and gutters, level sidewalks, new streetlights, new trees and the removal of the “crown” in the road. And, as in any successful improvement project, there’s more to it than meets the eye. In this case, the North Marin Water District, purveyor of the city’s water supply, is proactively replacing its dated waterlines before a future pipe failure creates the necessity to dig up the new city streets. A portion of the project entailed the installation of a new 12-in.waterline – 500 ft in length – under an old freeway right of way. The area was composed of layers of asphalt up to 2 ft thick and included an 8-in. thick reinforced concrete base. The Water District turned to the directional drilling method to minimize cost. Open trench projects are estimated to be up to four times more expensive. Plus, trenchless work reduces traffic congestions and pedestrian headaches that come with open trench projects. The Water District hired contractor Redline Directional Inc., of Rancho Cordova, Calif., to perform the new installation.
Another factor critical to the project’s long-term success was choosing the right pipe material for the job. Joe Kauwe, project engineer of North Marin Water District, opted for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe over high-density polyethylene (HDPE). “PVC is a rugged material. We use PVC C900 gasket joints for our everyday open trench installations,” Kauwe said.” Our selection of PVC restrained joint was based on availability of common water plumbing components that can connect to PVC. Plus, all the parts we needed for this job weren’t readily available in HDPE.” Trenchless Technology, January 2005.
Trenchless Construction
Pipe sized used: 12"
|
