PW Trenchless Construction started working with Pipe Bursting in the late 1990’s and the benefits of trenchless construction have never been more important.
The advantages of this method are vast — lower cost, less carbon emissions, less traffic disruption, less environmental disruption, less trucks driving excavated material out, and fewer truckloads of import fill trucked in. Adding to this the recent changes to carbon credits, Carbon Calculator, makes Trenchless Technologies the “go to” choice for utility installation & rehabilitation. For Pipe Bursting, the amount of excavated material is quite small when compared to open cut methods. There is also less risk to existing infrastructure, such as water and gas lines as well as any buried cables.
To execute this method, an entrance and exit pit are constructed at the limits of the burst. The exit pit houses a hydraulic pulling rig and the entrance pit accommodates pipe entry. The bursting rig is then used to send steel rods through the existing host pipe to the entrance pit where they are then connected to a solid steel bursting head attached to High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. The bursting rig then pulls the new pipe through the existing host pipe which fractures into the surrounding ground. This same process is used to replace service laterals however on a much reduced scale.
The unique material properties of HDPE pipe make it ideal for the pipe bursting process, it’s flexibility allows for minimal length entrance pits as it can bend down to the existing pipe elevation. Fusing the segment joints creates a stronger bond than that of the pipe wall itself permitting strong performance under tensile forces, necessary for the pull, it also inherently performs well under seismic stresses & strains. Fusing the pipe is therefore a vital and specialized task in which PW’s field technicians are all kept trained to current standards.
Maple Ridge Alley In the early part of 2019 PW Trenchless replaced a sewer for the city of Maple Ridge in a narrow laneway parallel to Lougheed highway. The project was complicated by the tight setback of buildings that in some …
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This was the final part of the contract that was started in 2017 with 5 of 8 Sections completed by PW Trenchless starting in 2015. This project was also the first time PW Trenchless had tried to replace a 200mm …
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10 city blocks of sewer were replaced on a steep street in the City of West Vancouver in late spring of 2019. Starting at the Clive Avenue and going up the hill to Mathers, the complete sewer was replaced.Special challenges …
See ProjectAn alternate tendering process where the contract is awarded to one entity which comprises both engineering and contracting.
Because PW Trenchless Construction offers such innovative solutions for underground utilities, it is often beneficial for the owner to request solutions based on a performance specification. This allows PW Trenchess to offer unique solutions while working with equally innovative engineering companies. Learn more about design - build here!
More InfoNew installation methodologies include HDD & traditional open cut Learn more about new installation here!
More InfoIn this day & age of pipe systems reaching the end of their projected lifespan, pipe replacement and pipe rehabilitation have become major fields of engineering.
PW Trenchless Construction provides viable options such as pipe bursting, loose fit lining and internal pipe re-construction whether partial & fully circumferential. Learn more about pipe replacement & rehabilitation here!
More InfoThe aging culverts under roads and highways in many case have reached the end of their engineered life-span. We consider the rehabilitation or replacement of these culverts to be vital to our built environment.
PW Trenchless has been a pioneer in working with MOTH, railway companies and municipalities in developing rehabilitation methodologies for the hundreds of thousands of culverts that currently exist in BC. We have offered solutions in both procurement and construction from design-build to sliplining, invert rehabilitation and full circumferential relining. Learn more about culvert rehabilitation here!
More InfoOften pipe failure can be concentrated to one section, for various reason, leaving the rest of the pipe in good condition. The repair of these localized failures are know as external point repairs (EPR's).
EPR's demonstrate PW's ability to work as both a trenchless and civil contractor, completing EPR contracts using our civil contracting skills and assisting other pure trenchless contractors who only have the capacity to work in an existing pipe. Learn more about point repairs here!
More InfoPipe upsizing is the fundamental concept of pipe bursting.
The vast majority of pipes are less than or equal to 200mm in diameter, but with today's densification practices of urban design, there is a major demand to increase current capacity to handle extra flow. Pipe bursting provides the ideal solution to this issue, particularly in an urban setting. Learn more about pipe upsizing here!
More InfoHorizontal Directional Drilling is a low impact Trenchless construction service where pipe is installed in a shallow arc along a bore path which has been created by a drilling rig. Often the terms Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and Directional Boring are used interchangeably, but in our industry we use the word “boring” when we utilize smaller sized drilling rigs with small diameters for short crossings in the hundreds of feet, and we use the word “drilling” when we utilize larger rigs with large diameters for long crossings in the thousands of feet. Learn more about horizontal directional drilling here!
More InfoPrimus Line® is a flexible sliplining solution for the trenchless rehabilitation of pressure pipes. The system consists of a flexible Kevlar® reinforced liner and specially developed end fittings. Primus Line® is not bonded to the host pipe and is self-supporting. An annulus remains between Primus Line® and the host pipe.
Developed by experienced engineers, the system is suitable for different media as well as various application needs and has already proven itself in numerous projects.Learn more about primus lining here!
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When you join PWT, you become part of a community of people who are engaged in the most innovative practices in the Trenchless Industry. We have been instrumental in setting up a scientific method for cities to gain carbon offsets/credits from their use of trenchless construction. This system has been reviewed by the BC Government and has been approved as of December 2018. We expect to see it in common use shortly.
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