2024 UESI Pipelines Conference

The annual Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI) Pipelines Conference by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) took place July 27-31 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Achen-Gardner Construction Project Managers Casey Peery and Cody Nunez attended to learn about the latest innovations and news in the construction industry.

July 31: Trenchless Pipe Work

For 16 years, Achen-Gardner has been improving trenchless pipe work methods. The 2008 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (JOC) project for the City of Phoenix was the start of our many successful trenchless projects. Now Achen-Gardner is leading the use of trenchless methods in Arizona.

More than 10 sessions of the conference discussed trenchless construction. Cody and Casey attended several of these. Many presentations discussed trenchless options and the decision process it takes to execute these plans across large amounts of pipe.

Here are some trenchless methods of pipe work, and examples of how Achen-Gardner applied them in our projects:

UV CIPP: This is a process that requires ultraviolet (UV) light to cure in place pipe (CIPP), which is quicker and less disruptive than the traditional curing process. The lining material is inserted along the pipe, then inflated, and the resin around it is cured using UV light. We frequently install UV CIPP on our Wastewater Conveyance JOC for Pima County.

CIPP: Similar to UV CIPP, the curing process of this trenchless method is what makes it efficient. After the lining is applied to the inside of a pipe, it is inflated, and hot water is circulated to cure the resin. Our PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation CMAR project for the City of Phoenix included more than 17,400 feet of CIPP lining.

Pipe Bursting: This method involves pulling a pipe through an existing pipe underground. The existing pipe is smaller than the new one, so it “bursts” along the way. We recently installed more than 3,600 feet of pipe utilizing pipe bursting on our Main Street Wastewater Main Replacement JOC for the Town of Florence.

Sliplining: This process involves pulling or pushing a new and smaller “carrier” pipe into a larger “host” pipe. This method is popular for its low impact on the existing environment and infrastructure, saving time and money. Two examples of Achen-Gardner’s sliplining experience include:

Jack and Bore: The jack and bore method involves boring underground to insert a casing pipe. The carrier pipe is then inserted inside of the casing. This method is especially popular for pipelines crossing under railroads, canals, highways, and other infrastructure. We used jack and bore to install sewer line under a major roadway on our Twin Peaks-Blue Bonnet Gravity Sewer DB project for Pima County, minimizing traffic impacts that would have occurred in an open-cut installation.

Horizontal Directional Drilling: Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) allows us to drill a hole into the ground and direct the precise path of a new pipe from above the ground. Our award-winning Bell Road Force Main CMAR project for EPCOR included several HDD operations, including more than 1,600 feet of pipeline crossing under the Agua Fria River.

July 30: Innovation Never Stops

Casey and Cody were reminded of the value in maintaining great relationships with clients, designers, engineers, and other contractors as they journeyed through the exhibit halls and sessions. They especially enjoyed presentations by the following agencies:

  • Central Arizona Project (CAP): The CAP presented about our Salt River Siphon Repair (DB) project. This award-winning project utilized two short-term strategic outages (72 hours for the first and six weeks for the second) to dewater a large siphon. The CAP shared tips that shaped the success of this job:

    • Innovative progress requires organizations to invite feedback on projects.

    • People share more detailed feedback in small groups rather than in large gatherings.

  • The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA): GLWA shared new information on the assessment, monitoring, and repairing of pipes in a session called “Applied Research Turns Wire Breaks Into Innovation Opportunity for GLWA.” Details included:

    • A 700-foot section of 54” PCCP near a gas facility experienced a distress rate of more than 50 percent. It needed to be observed for leaks, wire breaks, stiffness, and other structural condition changes.

    • As the repair progressed, GLWA installed a new system of technology that had a low impact to the pipeline.

    • Some of these new technologies are being discussed for future Achen-Gardner projects.

Achen-Gardner is enthusiastic about bringing the best value to our clients on every job. We look forward to bringing back these lessons-learned and maintaining the friendships we’ve made and strengthened at this conference.

July 29: Local Projects, Big Impact

Day one of the UESI Pipelines Conference featured many interesting topics, such as condition assessments, pipe bursting, large diameter pipe assessments, and others. Two sessions were particularly noteworthy because they featured some of Achen-Gardner’s Arizona projects.

  • “How City of Phoenix Overcame Challenges to Complete a Major System Resiliency Project” by Black & Veatch Engineering Manager Juan Rosales: This presentation discussed overcoming challenges on our Zone 3D and 4A Improvements: Segment 1 Water Transmission Main Construction Manager at Rick (CMAR) project, and the value of seeking contractor input early. Achen-Gardner provided early coordination with the City of Phoenix on this project. Juan talked about the importance of evaluating preliminary water line alignments and how the optimal alignment benefited the project.

  • “Condition Assessment of a Low Pressure PCCP System” by Stantec Engineers Taylor Ahrensdorf and Cassandra Flores: These engineers presented about the Ak-Chin Link Pipeline Repair and Mitigation Design-Build (DB) project and their Geographic Information System (GIS) dashboard, which uses an algorithm to prioritize rehabilitation to guide future rehabilitation efforts. This project was a large diameter prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) repair and rehabilitation within the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Achen-Gardner is fortunate to have worked on these projects and assisted with executing innovative design and engineering methods. Success happens when great minds meet hard work.