In June 2008, a 16-inch-diameter cast iron water main ruptured in Daytona Beach, Florida. The main, one of three that service nearby barrier islands and beaches, was 61 years old.
The City of Daytona Beach's Utilities Department sought a speedy solution to the ruined main that had put additional stress on two remaining water mains, both of which are also 50 to 60 years old.
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| After a fusion joint was cooled, heavy machinery pulled the pipe through to be in position for the next fusion joint. |
City officials decided to enlarge the main to approximately 24 inches of inner diameter to accommodate anticipated growth and redevelopment on the beach side and barrier island. The new line crossing was placed 1,500 feet south of the existing line that ruptured due to constraints on space available for layout.
Utility Services Authority, LLC (USA) won a bidding process for the $1.5 million Earl Street Water Main Replacement project that included directional drilling and pipe installation underneath the Halifax River. The bidding process included multiple pipe material options, with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe getting the winning nod.
“We will always bid multiple materials to be good stewards of the public’s money,” said Frank Van Pelt, project manager for the City of Daytona’s Utilities Department Engineering Division. “We chose HDPE because it has a better bend radius for our layout area.”
The bend radius of the pipe was important as the city allocated a very small footprint in a city park adjacent to the Main Street Bridge out to the barrier island. As the 50-foot sticks of HDPE were fused together, they were pulled along a street running parallel to the Halifax River, almost at a 90-degree angle to the insertion pit. Pipe rollers kept the pipeline from being pulled along the asphalt of the street.
To join the approximately 2,900 feet of JM Eagle 30-inch IPS DR 9 HDPE, Utility Services Authority used a McElroy TracStar® 900, MegaMc™ PolyHorse™ and DataLogger® to perform the pipe fusion operations.
The Daytona Beach jobsite was restricted to a very small footprint in a park area between North Beach Street and the waterfront, which made it perfect site to test a prototype MegaMc PolyHorse. McElroy distributor, ISCO Industries, consulted with USA to get the new product on site.
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| A stick of pipe is dispensed into the powered rollers of the MegaMc PolyHorse. The length of fused pipe has been pulled and is ready for the next 50-foot stick of pipe to be fused onto the length. |
Personnel from Utility Services Authority were excited about the prospect of having the prototype on the job because it frees up heavy machinery, such as loaders and excavators. Additional machinery isn’t required to hold and position sticks of pipe in place for fusion operations when using the MegaMc PolyHorse. Fusion technicians on site were able to release and load sticks of pipe for fusing with the use of the remote control, which directs all of the functions from the carriage of the fusion machine.
Once pipe was ready and in position, a McElroy TracStar 900 was used to butt fuse the pipe into a long, monolithic pipeline. The TracStar proved an advantageous choice on the job, as the fusion operator was able to fine tune the position of the fusion machine underneath the pipe to get ideal placement before beginning the fusion process.
USA started mobilizing for the project at the end of July and completed drilling operations on two separate bores at the end of August 2010. The project was complete by the first of November after open cut, tie-ins and testing operations were successful. Thanks to the use of several McElroy products and the great characteristics of HDPE piping, Daytona Beach crossed the finish line without falling victim to the older pipes rupturing before the new line could go into service. The MegaMc PolyHorse is no longer a prototype and is available for order. More details are in the Product Spotlight below.
Sincerely,
Tyler Henning
P.S. – Do you have an interesting job site that you would like to share? McElroy is always looking for fusion job sites where HDPE is being used and fused to solve an infrastructure problem. Contact Tyler Henning, public relations specialist at (918) 831-9286 or by email at thenning@mcelroy.com
The MegaMc™ PolyHorse™ is a pipe-handling system designed to boost productivity and promote safer working conditions on 20 to 48-inch IPS (500mm to 1,200mm) polyethylene pipe jobsites.
Instead of dedicating a piece of heavy machinery to lift, align, load and hold a stick of pipe to be fused, the MegaMc PolyHorse does all the work. After setting up the MegaMc PolyHorse, sticks of pipe are loaded directly onto the pipe racks that are purposefully designed with an incline that allows gravity to feed the pipes to the dispenser. The dispenser is activated by the remote control, lowering a single stick of pipe into a tracked powered pipe stand and roller powered pipe stand attached to the end of the racks. The operator then controls the powered pipe stands to move and align the pipe up to 24 inches laterally and 34 inches vertically. Powered rubber tracks feed a stick of pipe into the fusion machine.
Features
- One operator can load, align and fuse pipe
- Minimizes wear and tear on fusion machine
- No double handling of pipe, pipe moves from delivery truck to racks
- Holds a full delivery truckload of pipe 26 inches in diameter and larger
- No waiting on heavy equipment to load pipe for each fusion joint
- 24” of lateral and 34” of vertical range of motion to align pipe with jaws of fusion machine
- Adjustable height legs set rack incline and adapt to uneven terrain
- Ships on one semi-trailer with fusion machine and generator
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Product Overview |  |
Spec Summary (PDF) |  |
Product Video |
The Alliance for PE Pipe's Roadshow and Expo is an outstanding opportunity to learn more about HDPE piping systems. Always staffed with industry experts, the roadshows are a great opportunity to bring questions with you and learn about the most responsible pipe infrastructure going in the ground today. Complimentary breakfast and lunch is available, as well as entry into an iPad giveaway pending a completed RSVP online at www.pepipe.org before attending.
For more information, download a PDF flyer for the events here.
Upcoming dates*:
June 28 – Columbus, Ohio – Hyatt Regency Columbus
June 29 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Holiday Inn Cleveland South
June 30 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh
*All events run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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To find out more about Milford Pipe and Supply, visit their Facebook page.
If you have photos from a jobsite, we’d love to see them! Yours may be chosen for the next issue of McElroy Connections. Simply email your photos to Tyler Henning, at thenning@mcelroy.com.
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Are you at the AWWA's #ACE11 Conference? We're at Booth #1113 with our Pit Bull 26, In Field Tensile Tester and more! Come visit! Jun 14th |
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What are you doing at the end of June? If you are in Ohio or Penn., you should attend a PE Pipe Road Show. #HDPE http://ow.ly/5hhLJ Jun 14th |
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VIDEO: Check out the new McElroy MegaMc PolyHorse - the new pipe-handling system for 20 to 48" #HDPE pipe! http://ow.ly/5faYB Jun 13th |
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Are you going to #AWWA for the ACE11 Conference? We'll be at Booth #1113 with our Pit Bull 26, In Field Tensile Tester and more! Come visit! Jun 8th |
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Microtunneling in Queens with #HDPE. Story courtesy of Trenchless Technology magazine. Six inch pipe goes under PepsiCo.http://ow.ly/5aXOI Jun 6th |
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Interesting article on #HDPE and backreaming through rock, courtesy of Trenchless Technology magazine. http://ow.ly/5aXIx Jun 6th |
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What are you doing at the end of June? If you are in Ohio or Penn., you should attend a PE Pipe Road Show. #HDPE http://ow.ly/4YEU1 May 19th |
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If you own or rent McElroy fusion equipment, you will probably want to read this email that we just sent out. http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d71462dc4d7f47137c5651e68&id=9bf51f744c May 18th |
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