NASTT Announces 2023 Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards – Rehabilitation

NASTT is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 NASTT Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards for New Installations and Rehabilitation. These awards recognize excellence by commending authors of the best NASTT No-Dig Show papers each year. The winning papers were presented at the NASTT 2023 No-Dig Show.

Download the winning papers bundle or the full conference proceedings in the NASTT Online Store.

Authors of both papers will give encore presentations at the NASTT 2024 No-Dig Show in Providence, Rhode Island.

NASTT 2023 Outstanding Paper – Rehabilitation

Emergency Trenchless Rehabilitation of the East Don River Trunk Sewer and the Highland Creek Interceptor.

Christopher C. Macey, Global Technical Practice Leader, AECOM, Winnipeg, MB

Bo Pajic, Program Manager, Capital Works Delivery, Toronto Water Division, Toronto, Canada

Kristy Gibson, Program Manager, Capital Works Delivery, Toronto Water Division, Toronto, Canada

 

About the Authors. The team that put together this year’s winning paper for rehabilitation is comprised of experts with the experience necessary to tackle an emergency situation during the COVID crisis. Kristy Gibson is a Senior Project Manager with the City of Toronto, where she has managed both linear and vertical infrastructure upgrade projects for Toronto Water since 2015. Bo Pajic is a professional engineer and has been with Toronto Water since 2010 and took the lead in developing the City-Wide planned Sewer Rehabilitation Program in 2015. Chris Macey, P. Eng. is a Vice President and the Americas and Global Technical Practice Leader for AECOM for Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation of Underground Infrastructure with more than 45 years of experience. 

“This project is important to showcase to the industry given its complexity and urgency, especially the Highland Creek site due to its proximity to the Scarborough Hospital,“ Pajic noted. “Trenchless methods allowed the repairs to be completed in a more expeditious manner when compared to open-cut replacement, which was critical during COVID.” Macey agrees. “This work was particularly critical and getting it done and getting the message out there means a great deal.” The City staff were also an important part of the team especially Richard Noehammer, William Shea, Garry Boychuk, Adam Zietara, Jian Lei, George Roknic, Irina Vasile. and Sarah Duff. Pajic and Gibson were thrilled to work alongside Macey, who In 2019 was elected to the NASTT Hall of Fame for his work in Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation. “We would like to thank Chris Macey for his steadfast contributions to the City of Toronto’s Sewer Rehabilitation Program,” they said.”As a leading industry expert, his knowledge and expertise on the Program and specifically in the completion of this emergency project was invaluable.”

Abstract. The East Don River Trunk Sewer (EDTS) and the Highland Creek Interceptor (HCI) Sewers are both critical sanitary sewers in designated ravine areas in Toronto, ON. Both sewers were originally constructed in the 1950’s and during the course of 2020 and 2021, they developed surficial sinkholes due to severe loss of ground into defects in the pipe and manhole structures.

The EDTS was a 1200 mm (48”) diameter pipe in very soft soils and the settlement had engaged 12 pipes with a maximum settlement of about 600 mm (2 feet). Its failure would have resulted in the direct discharge of large sewer volumes in the East Don River. The adjacent section had previously failed and showed signs of active deterioration as well due to loss of ground.

The HCI sinkhole was centered over a Maintenance Hole (MH) that was 9 m (30 feet) deep and had engaged 2 -900 mm (36”) pipes and approximately 4 – 1050 mm pipes (42”). The maximum amount of pipe settlement was about 400 mm (16”). Its failure would have engaged a bridge structure and would also have resulted in large sewage flows into the adjacent Highland Creek.

This paper captures the two separate emergency response efforts in 2021 and early 2022, where both locations were uniquely repaired using a balance of external ground stabilization techniques and CIPP lining with minimal ground disturbance. The HCI repair included MH lining and a single tapered CIPP tube shot with 4 different design sections (varying wall thickness and tube circumference).

NASTT Announces 2023 Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards – New Installation

NASTT is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 NASTT Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards for New Installations and Rehabilitation. These awards recognize excellence by commending authors of the best NASTT No-Dig Show papers each year. The winning papers were presented at the NASTT 2023 No-Dig Show.

Download the winning papers bundle or the full conference proceedings in the NASTT Online Store.

Authors of both papers will give encore presentations at the NASTT 2024 No-Dig Show in Providence, Rhode Island.

NASTT 2023 Outstanding Paper – New Installation

The Use of a Geo Pilot Bore to Confirm HDD Feasibility

James Murphy, M.Eng. P.Eng., UniversalPegasus International, Calgary, Alberta

Dan Costello, M.Sc. (Hons), P.Geo., PMP. BGC Engineering Inc., Vancouver, BC

Marty Zaleski, M.Sc., P.Geo, CEG, LEG. BGC Engineering Inc., Vancouver, BC

About the Authors. For James Murphy, it all started back in the summer of 1972 when he was a student working on the Toronto subway tunnel construction project. “I gained an appreciation for soils and soil mechanics,” he said. “This ultimately led to a career in major pipeline design and construction and then a specialization in trenchless technology.” In 2011 the paths of the authors put them on a team working on the TMEP pipeline project which they recognized was going to be extremely challenging from a major trenchless standpoint.  They used their ingenuity to demonstrate that these specific crossings were possible using the Horizontal Directional Drilling technology and would likely be the most cost-effective way to meet the challenges presented by the geography and the geology. “The design of trenchless crossings was a natural extension of the work I do to develop and interrogate geological models, using tools that span geology, geotechnics, and geophysics, Marty Zaleski explained. “The key challenge is making reliable predictions of ground conditions in the context of sparse observation points, which requires that we understand depositional processes and devise new ways of collecting meaningful observations. This is where geologists shine.” The whole team shone brightly in Portland and want to acknowledge Rob Brown, President of Universal Pegasus, Alex Baumgard, BGC Geotechnical Engineering, Manjiri Khare, Project Manager Universal Pegasus for their support.

Abstract. Within the Trenchless Program for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project almost 50 Horizontal Directional Drills (HDDs) as well as all the other trenchless methods were utilized. However due to severe topography and access constraints, there were locations where a geotechnical investigation with a normal number of boreholes would not be able to provide sufficient geotechnical information and even a limited number of holes would be cost prohibitive. Boreholes in some cases would have been hundreds of meters deep with difficult access and site preparation. Also, from a design standpoint, engineering would primarily be interested in whether there are fractures that would be major fluid loss zones or there would be fractures or faults that would produce water that would likely fail the HDD. Therefore, for two long ‘potential’ NPS 36, HDD crossings in mountainous terrain, Universal Pegasus offered up the potential for doing ‘geo-pilot bores’ to confirm the feasibility of using HDD in these locations. From a regulatory perspective, a geo-pilot bore following the HDD design profile is considered part of the geotechnical program provided it does not exit and stops short by 50 metres or more. Exiting the bore would constitute “construction” which has significant restrictions and reporting issues.

A successful geo-pilot bore approximately 1,700 m (5,600 ft) long confirmed the feasibility of the first HDD crossing at Dry Gulch in August of 2021 and a second geo-pilot bore for the Mountain Crossing #3 HDD crossing, approximately 1,600 m (5,300 ft) long HDD was completed in 2022. This paper describes the design, thinking, and construction challenges behind the geo-pilot bore concept with these two examples.

NASTT Requests Proposals for CIPP Good Practices Course & Publication Update

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology has sent out a request for proposals for Professional Engineering Services to update and revise NASTT’s Cured-In-Place Pipe Good Practices Training Course and Publication.

RFP Issue Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
RFP Closing Date: 5:00 PM EST – Friday, March 31, 2023

Click here to download the RFP.

Click here to download the RFP Appendix A.

Submittal instructions are located in the document.

NASTT Requests Proposals for HDD Good Practices Course & Publication Update

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology has sent out a request for proposals for Professional Engineering Services to update and revise NASTT’s Horizontal Directional Drilling Good Practices Training Course and Publication.

RFP Issue Date: Thursday, December 5, 2022
RFP Closing Date: 5:00 PM EST – Friday, January 27, 2023

Click here to download the RFP.

Click here to download the RFP Appendix A.

Submittal instructions are located in the document.

NASTT Requests Proposals for Laterals Good Practices Course Update

Deadline has been extended to Oct 31!

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology has sent out a request for proposals for Professional Engineering Services to update and revise NASTT’s Laterals Good Practices Training Course.

RFP Issue Date: Monday, August 15, 2022
RFP Closing Date: 2:00 PM EST – Monday, October 31, 2022

Click here to download the RFP.

Click here to submit your proposal.

NASTT Announces 2021 Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards

November 10, 2021 – The North American Society for Trenchless Technology is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 NASTT Outstanding Trenchless Paper Awards for Rehabilitation and New Installations. These awards recognize excellence by commending authors of the best NASTT No-Dig Show papers each year. The winning papers were presented at the 2021 NASTT No-Dig Show in Orlando, Florida.

2021 Outstanding Paper: Rehabilitation

Columbia Canal Brick Arch Tunnel Geopolymer Lining in South Carolina
Joe Royer, Ph.D., Vice President R&D, GeoTree Solutions, LLC, Spartanburg, SC 
Bill Sharpe, Business Development Manager, Inland Pipe Rehabilitation, LLC, Columbia, SC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five years prior to the main project, the owner did an early technology evaluation and pilot project. “This gave us the opportunity to show the current larger effort as well as the success of the earlier projects,” explained Joe Royer. “The support of the asset owner on the difficult access issues on the project also helped shape the narrative.”

The paper brings attention to the use of geopolymers and spray-applications as an important part of the trenchless industry. “The work we at GeoTree Solutions and our contracting partner on this project IPR have done to develop the technology showcase viable solutions for large diameter projects.”

Columbia Canal Brick Arch Tunnel Geopolymer Lining in South Carolina is featured in the fall issue of Trenchless North America.

2021 Outstanding Paper: New Installations

HDD Lessons You Can Only Learn in the Field

Kimberlie Staheli, Ph.D., P.E., Staheli Trenchless Consultants, Seattle, WA

Jake Andresen, P.E., Staheli Trenchless Consultants, Seattle, WA

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I have thought about putting this together for years,” says Kimberlie Staheli who was introduced to trenchless technology on her first job after college with a microtunneling contractor. “The industry was so new that it really excited me. The more I learned, the more I realized that I had a shot of making a difference.” Staheli has seen the industry in an ongoing state of rapid transformation for more than 20 years and believes it is an industry where an engineer can continuously learn and grow.

“I see engineers specifying things that are not constructable. Then when we get there to perform Risk Management InspectionTM, we have to work through the issues in the field.  I wanted engineers to be aware of how the designs need to be changed in the field to avoid claims.”

HDD Lessons You Can Only Learn in the Field will be featured in the winter issue of Trenchless North America.

The winning papers (and all the NASTT No-Dig Show papers) are available in the NASTT product store .

Authors of both papers will give encore presentations at the 2022 NASTT No-Dig Show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit the conference website.