A storm water drain in Holly Creek, a town in Harris County, Texas, needed serious rehabilitation. The corrugated metal pipe, roughly 110 ft in length and 60 in. in diameter, was corroded.
During the installation, there was no access to water. Cure water for the project had to be brought into an area served only by a narrow two-lane road. It was not possible for the road to be closed, which eliminated the possibility of digging up the storm culvert.
Instead, the county opted for a trenchless composite cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) known as iPlus Composite, a fiber-reinforced CIPP that provides added strength and stiffness as well as a thinner pipe wall.
The project crew set up the jobsite footprint on the side of the road and closed only one lane, allowing for traffic to pass. Very strict requirements were initiated by Harris County to protect the trees and creek in the surrounding area from any damage during the installation.
Kevin Gabrysch, project manager for Insituform, said, “The project posed a number of challenges, including a restricted work area, protecting the surrounding environment from damage and keeping the road open to traffic. With the amount and size of equipment we had, the job went really well.”
To protect the surrounding area, the crew laid out protective covering for the aggregate used for shoulder support. After installation, the protective covering also served as a “bag,” allowing for complete removal of any aggregate or damage to the grass.
“The only visible indication that any work had been done was the smooth, attractive liner that had replaced a visible rusted corrugated metal pipe,” said Jerry Brown, business development manager for Insituform. “The engineers and inspectors said that they were very impressed when we packed up and left no visible evidence that any work had been done.” It took the project team less than a week to do the work on site.
