The Magazine of the American Concrete Pipe …...concrete pipe, citing concerns about the structural integ-rity and lifespan of HDPE as compared to concrete. In 2004, Advanced Drainage

www.concrete-pipe.orgVolume 58 No. 2 Spring 2006

The Magazine of theAmerican Concrete Pipe Association

American Concrete Pipe Association

Photo: Hanson Pipe & Products, Inc.

Correction: winter 2006 issueCover StoryPhotos: Mary Vermeer

120-inch diameter reinforcedconcrete pipe lowered into

position.

This issue:Volume 58, Number 2Spring 2006Concrete Pipe News is published four timeseach year by the American Concrete PipeAssociation. It is designed to provideinformation on the use and installation ofprecast concrete pipe products for a widevariety of applications, including drainageand pollution control systems. Industrytechnology, research and trends are alsoimportant subjects of the publication.Readers include engineers, specifiers, publicworks officials, contractors, suppliers,vendors and members of the AmericanConcrete Pipe Association.

American Concrete Pipe Association StaffMatt Childs, P.E.PresidentMichael W. Beacham, P.E.Director of State and Federal ProgramsJosh Beakley, P.E.Director of Technical ServicesKaren HunterMarketing ManagerWanda CochranAdministrative AssistantLaHonda HolleAdministrative AssistantWendy LambertControllerKim Spahn, E.I.T.,Engineering Services ManagerMedia Task GroupBill Gardner, ChairMadison Concrete Pipe, Inc.Madison, WisconsinJim BartleySchlüesselbauer North AmericaCookstown, ONSteve BerloScituate Concrete Pipe Co.Scituate, MAMerle HeadingtonCretex Concrete Products Midwest, Inc.Cedar Rapids, IABill HobsonN C ProductsRaleigh, North CarolinaRick PhillipsRinker Materials - Concrete Pipe DivisionValley, NERobert PowersInland Pipe LimitedEdmonton, ABRobert RyanMaster Builders, Inc.Cleveland, OHContract Editorial StaffA. Grant LeeAGL Marketing LimitedExecutive EditorGary WilderWilder StudiosProduction

Published by:American Concrete Pipe Association222 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 641Irving, Texas 75039-5423Phone: (972) 506-7216Fax: (972) 506-7682E-mail: [email protected]

Opinions expressed by authors other than staff of the AmericanConcrete Pipe Association do not necessarily reflect the officialpositions or policies of the Association. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced or transmitted by any means without writtenpermission from the publisher.© Copyright 2006 ACPA

Regular DepartmentsEditorial ..................................................................................................................................... 3Portland, Oregon has successfully defended its right to choose quality products for its public worksbased upon its own analysis of available materials. The Portland vs. ADS case is important formunicipal and consulting engineers to understand. It does have implications for the city and may havefar-reaching effects on the way public agencies control the value of their buried infrastructure asset.

Feature StoryReinforced Concrete Pipe Supports Sustainable Development in Sacramento Region ................... 4Reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) and sustainable development are synonymous with quality when itcomes to planning for current and future buried infrastructure needs. Hanson is producing andsupplying 18,230 feet of 120-inch diameter RCP with a 12-foot joint length, one of several projectsunder contract by the Sacramento Regional County Sewer District (SRCSD).

StoriesConcrete Pipe Producer Stands Firm in Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato ......................................... 7It may be described by some in Mexico as a quiet invasion by high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipemanufacturers, since their products have been used on most housing projects and urban sanitary andstorm sewer systems in the country over the past 10 years. Mexican concrete pipe producer, GrupoMondragon is winning back market share project-by-project with high quality concrete pipe, open-minded contractors, and the resources of the American Concrete Pipe Association.

Québec Transportation Ministry Sets Policy for Pipe Under Highways ...................................... 10A new policy for installing pipe under highways was realized when construction began on the Highway40 Phase III project in the province of Québec, Canada. The policy states that reinforced concrete pipewill be the only circular pipe allowed for culverts and storm sewers under highways. Reasons such asdurability and reliability seem to have justified this choice.

City Has Long History of Using Reinforced Concrete Pipe .......................................................... 13The Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Water Pollution Control Plant gives testimony to the reliability andperformance of reinforced concrete pipe under the most demanding design considerations. The Cityhas been using concrete pipe for its sanitary and storm sewers for decades. Fond du Lac serves as amodel community where its infrastructure is built to last.

Underground Storm Water Storage Systems Brochure Released .............................................. 16ACPA has released its brochure on storm water storage systems that focuses on the many benefits ofmanaging storm water with underground storage systems designed with precast concrete pipe andboxes. Included in the brochure is reference to ACPA’s DASH (Detention And Sewer Hydraulics)software which is an easy-to-use interactive design software.

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CONCRETE PIPE NEWS www.concrete-pipe.org SPRING 2006

table ofcontents

continued on page 15

Matt Childs, P.E., PresidentAmerican Concrete Pipe Association

Portland, Oregon has successfully defended its rightto choose quality products for its public works based uponits own analysis of available materials. This was a prece-dent-setting case in April 2005 for the highly competitivedrainage pipe industry. The decision recognized the cre-dentials and authority of civil engineers working for a mu-nicipality and their right to make recommendations to coun-cil, based on applied science and performance of materi-als over a given period.

For more than 15 years, Advanced Drainage Systems(ADS), a manufacturer of corrugated high density polyeth-ylene (HDPE) pipe, pressured the City of Portland, Oregonto approve its product for city projects. Throughout thattime, the city repeatedly defended its choice of reinforcedconcrete pipe, citing concerns about the structural integ-rity and lifespan of HDPE as compared to concrete. In 2004,Advanced Drainage Systems took an unprecedented step,and sued the city to force the approval of HDPE. Portlandfought back and won, successfully defending its engineers’professional opinions.

The fallout from this decision could have far-reachingaffects on the way municipalities choose products andmaterials to build sustainable infrastructure.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board

(GASB) Statement 34 requires that state and local govern-ments determine the costs associated with initial construc-tion, subsequent capital improvements and the cost asso-ciated with using the asset. GASB 34 requires governmentsto address whether current-year citizens paid for current-year services (and not shifted to future-year citizens), andwhether the government’s financial position has improved(or not) because of the year’s operations. The purpose ofGASB 34 is to place a value on infrastructure assets andreport those assets in the municipality’s financial report.The assessment provides a measure of the creditworthi-ness of a local municipality that includes information onits infrastructure.

The long-term view provided by the accounting infor-mation will allow trends and changes in infrastructure valueand conditions to be determined, thereby enhancing therating system for the municipality. It is now incumbent uponmunicipalities to use products and materials that will de-liver long-term performance that has a positive impact ona municipality’s creditworthiness. A municipality’s engineer-ing force will once again play a major role in determiningthe value of a municipality’s infrastructure when councilsadopt their recommendations and specifications to deliverthe best infrastructure possible for existing and future gen-erations. This action is fully in line with the principles ofsustainable infrastructure and construction.

The capability of pipe to perform as expected for thedesign life of a project is a fundamental engineering con-sideration, especially in today’s economic environmentwhere life cycle cost analysis and asset management re-quirements have been set in place to ensure sustainableburied infrastructure. Selecting pipe materials best suitedfor service as a storm sewer, culvert, sanitary sewer, orsmall bridge replacement is of primary importance to thedesign engineer. Selection is based on hydraulic efficiency,structural integrity, durability and cost. On many projectswhen alternate materials are bid, selection is too often basedon the initial cost of products. However, the pipe materialwith the lowest first cost may not be the most economicalselection for the design life of the project. Thus, the appli-cation of least (life cycle) cost analysis to road and drain-age projects has increased dramatically in recent years.Local and state governments have increasingly includedsome type of analysis in their material selection process.The importance of considering the future of a facility dur-ing the design phase has been made clear by the multitudeof problems that many authorities are facing as infrastruc-ture wears out. In many instances, engineers and execu-

FALLOUT FROM PRECEDENT-SETTINGCASE MAY BE FAR REACHING

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SPRING 2006 www.concrete-pipe.org CONCRETE PIPE NEWS

editorial

Pipe moved in yardwith 40-ton

LeTourneau lift.

Reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) and sus-tainable development are synonymous withquality when it comes to planning for cur-rent and future buried infrastructure needs.Hanson Pipe & Product’s Florin Road Plantin Sacramento, California has made a sig-nificant contribution to the constructionof the Lower Northwest Interceptor(LNWI) sanitary sewer designed to ser-vice about 200,000 households in theSacramento Region with a liquid wasteprogram. The LNWI sanitary sewerproject extends for 19 miles and handlesapproximately 200 million gallons per

day during peak wet weather flows. Hanson’scontribution is the supply of approximately 3.3miles of lined reinforced concrete pipe for theconstruction of the Southport Gravity Sewer(SGS), a connecting link between two lengthsof force main.

Hanson is producing and supplying 18,230feet of 120-inch diameter RCP with a 12-footjoint length for the LNWI, one of several projectsunder contract by the Sacramento RegionalCounty Sewer District (SRCSD). Constructionbegan in the spring of 2005 and had to be com-pleted by the fall 2006 since the City of WestSacramento will run out of treatment capacityat the end of 2006. On completion, the City ofWest Sacramento will divert all of its sewageinto the Southport line and cease operation ofits treatment plant.

Of the 9 projects included in the LNWI, onlythe Southport Gravity Sewer called for the opencut method of construction. The alignmentpasses through several locations that had beenidentified as habitat for endangered animal spe-cies, including Giant Garter Snakes, Swainson’sHawks, Western Pond Turtles and Valley El-derberry Longhorn Beetles. Since these sectionsof the alignment required special considerationbetween October 1, 2005 and April 30, 2006 toaccommodate nesting and breeding patterns,construction scheduling covers a two-year pe-riod.

Challenges to the construction schedulingdid not end with special consideration of wild-life. The SGS project, in addition to the open-

cut construction method, is the only align-ment within the LNWI program to be a

gravity pipeline, and requires trenchexcavation of 30 to 45 feet to theinvert of the pipe. Since the line runsin close proximity to the SacramentoRiver, as much as 14 MGD of dewa-tering flows were anticipated by thedesigner. Environmental regulationsrequired that all groundwater betreated before discharge into the riverand dewatering wells were drilled.

The project was bid on July 8, 2004.Hanson received a Letter of Intent from

Reinforced ConcretePipe Supports

SustainableDevelopment in

Sacramento Region

By John E LeGros, Jr.,-P.E., Senior EngineerHanson Pipe &Products, Inc.916-313-5506

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Feature Story

Concrete pipe arrives onsite for offload.

Photos: Hanson Pipe & Produccts, Inc.

120-inch diameter RCP is wet castwith-spigot down on open air line.

the low bidder, SteveP. Rados, Inc., laterthat month to pro-duce and supply45,000 tons of pipe.The Notice to Pro-ceed was issued inSeptember andHanson undertook itsdesign and engineer-ing submission forapproval. Pipe pro-duction started in De-cember 2004 and ap-proximately 60 per-cent of the line wasinstalled in 2005.Scheduling called forpipe productionthrough mid June2006 with installationof the last piece in theearly fall. As of pub-lication of this article,the project is onschedule. There are

nine curves over the length of the gravity sewerthat require beveled-end pieces. Other non-stan-dard pieces include short pipe lengths, fieldclosures and inline manhole openings.

The 120-inch diameter pipe is wet-cast andmade spigot down on an open-air line.Reinforcement cages are producedon mandrel machines that wrap#4, #5, and #6 rebar (deliveredin coils) into helices and thenweld pairs of 3/8 inchlongitudinals to fix the spacing.The strength classes run from2000D to 3500D pipe. Thepipe is 270 degrees T-Locklined. Each spigot has twocircular gaskets, individuallyconforming to ASTM C361 re-quirements. In addition, eachpipe is produced with testports that allow the contrac-tor to pressurize between the

gaskets of an installed pipe before unhookingthat unit from the crane. Each standard joint ofpipe weighs 30 tons. Hanson uses a 75 ton and40 ton rail crane on either side of a casting slabto remove pipe from the molds. A 40-tonLeTourneau lift handles the pipe in the yard.

Production started with four pieces per day.In early partnering meetings, Hanson was re-quested to add new equipment to increase pro-duction to six joints per day. Two new formsets were added to the line in August 2005.

Yard tests include daily cylinders, a one timejoint shear, a weekly three-edge bearing byclass, a biweekly 13 psi hydrostatic test of twoassembled pipe, a T-Lock pull test every 500feet, spark testing of T-Lock on every pipe, andfour cores taken from every D-Load test pieceto verify steel placement. County inspectors arein the plant several times a week to witnesstesting and visually inspect each unit of pipe.The $37 million Southport Gravity Sewer is pro-gressing on schedule with no testing failures

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Feature Story

Photos: Upper PeninsulaConcrete Pipe Company

Concrete pipe offloaded and stored along trenchalignment for installation.

Hanson Pipe & Products, Inc. is a diversifiedmanufacturer of concrete pipe and a variety ofsupporting products including manholes, drainagestructures, boxes, bridge components, retainingwalls and concrete block. Its plant locationsthroughout North America enable the company toserve the most rapidly growing parts of the U.S.and Canada. Hanson is an international buildingmaterials company. It is one of the world’s largestproducers of construction aggregates, and concretegravity and pressure pipe, precast concrete, and isthe leading manufacturer of facing bricks in Europe.See www.hansonconcreteproducts.com for details.

Project: Southport Gravity SewerSacramento, California

Owner: Sacramento Regional County SewerDistrict

Tracey Gee, M.I.C.E. Project CoordinatorDesigner: Brown and Caldwell, Walnut Creek,

CaliforniaCharlie Joyce, P.E., Manager

ConstructionManager: Harris & Associates, Sacramento,

CaliforniaEric Strickland, Resident Engineer

Contractor: Steve P. Rados, Inc., Santa Ana,California

Rob Wojcik, Project ManagerProducer: Hanson Pipe & Products, Inc.

Florin Road Plant, Sacramento, CaliforniaShaun Slotterback, Area Plant ManagerHeather Knutson, P.E., Project Engineer

Quantities: 18,230 feet of 120-inch diameter x 12foot joint length RCP

through the spring of 2006.Sustainable development meets the needs

of the present without compromising the abil-ity of future generations to meet their needs.Efforts to build a sustainable way of life re-quire the integration of economic growth, con-servation of natural resources and the environ-ment and social development. The SouthportGravity Sewer project contributes to all threelegs necessary for sustainable infrastructure: TheSGS undertaking fosters the economic growthof northern Sacramento County, Natomas andWest Sacramento through the provision of ef-fective sewer service, the conservation of re-sources and ecosystems and reduction of sewerrates for the homeowners of the serviced ar-eas.

In addition to supplying pipe for theSouthport Gravity Sewer, Hanson’s Florin Roadplant is supplying wet-cast, 270 degree T-Locklined product to other major projects that addto the infrastructure assets of the SacramentoRegional County Sewer District. These include

9,000 feet of 108-inch and 2,500 feet of 84-inchdiameter RCP for the Bradshaw Interceptor(Contract 6B) and 6,800 feet of 72-inch diam-eter RCP for the tunneled section of theBradshaw Interceptor (Contract 8). In addition,the plant supplied 5,000 feet of 54-inch diam-eter RCP for the Fruitridge Road Sewer. Bymeeting the rigorous construction schedule ofthe Southport Gravity Sewer project, while sup-plying other major projects for the County,Hanson continues to demonstrate its capabilityand commitment to help with the constructionof a sustainable buried infrastructure in Sacra-mento.

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Feature StoryFeature Story

Photos: Mondragon

It may be described by some in Mexico as aquiet invasion by high density polyethylene(HDPE) pipe manufacturers, since their prod-ucts have been used on most housing projectsand urban sanitary and storm sewer systems inthe country over the past 10 years. Concretepipe producers believe that as much as 80 per-cent of the sanitary, storm sewer and culvertmarket has been taken by HDPE pipe. Thisloss has had a devastating effect on the country’sconcrete pipe industry over the past four yearsbecause numerous small construction materialhouses that produced six-inch diameter pipehave disappeared, taking local jobs with them.Some of the larger construction material houseshad concrete pipe machines, but these facili-ties have also disappeared with the emergenceof the HDPE pipe industry that controls thesmall diameter pipe market. HDPE pipe manu-facturers now have their eyes set on the re-maining producers of large diameter concretepipe.

The Mondragon Group has the most con-crete pipe facilities in Mexico, with nine inde-pendently run plants. The company is an oldfamily-run business, now in its third genera-tion. Without any association of concrete pipe

producers in Mexico able to support the con-crete pipe industry in the same way that theAmerican Concrete Pipe Association supportsits members, Mondragon has taken a stand inthe Town of Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato. Therenowned concrete pipe producer is determinedto regain market share using strategies of theAmerican concrete pipe industry and the re-sources of the American Concrete Pipe Asso-ciation. A project requiring 1,925 meters of 30-inch diameter and 822 meters of 36-inch diam-eter circular pipe with rubber compoundgasketed joints was first specified high densitypolyethylene. Collaboration with a well-in-formed local contractor resulted in a high qual-ity sewer system that will service the town fordecades.

HDPE producers have been very successfulin entering the Mexican sanitary and stormsewer, and road culvert markets through saleson government-sponsored projects. With veryloose or non-existent local standards in manystates and municipalities, and encouragementfrom government agencies to use HDPE pipe,contractors are too pleased to use HDPE pipe,as they find it readily accepted and are able toinstall it quickly. This is the current challenge

By Fernando Mondragon SandovalTubos y Construcciones de Queretaro, S.A. de [email protected]

Concrete Pipe ProducerConcrete Pipe ProducerStands Firm inStands Firm in

Juventino Rosas,Juventino Rosas,GuanajuatoGuanajuato

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Construction of outfall structure.

Delivery of 30-inch and 36-inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe for three kilometer sanitary sewer.

to the remaining concrete pipe producers, nowthat most of the small enterprises have goneout of business. Collectively, they realize thatcontractors and owners of projects need to beeducated about the fundamental differencesbetween rigid and flexible pipe systems, thedifferences in installation practices that will re-sult in a system that will function as specified,and that high quality concrete pipe is expectedon all projects.

Although HDPE pipe has been enteringMexico from the United States overthe past ten years manufacturedwith high priced raw materials,government agencies have beenable to justify the use of HDPE pipeon public projects. HDPE manufac-tures have been swift to capitalizeon this overall acceptance, bybuilding plants in Mexico employ-ing local labor and using importedraw materials. With plants well es-tablished in Monterrey, thecountry’s most industrialized city,the distribution of HDPE pipe intothe largest markets of the countryis assured. As recently as two yearsago, another HDPE plant was lo-cated in Mexico State nearbyMexico City which has a popula-tion of 25 million (almost 25 per-cent of the country’s 106 millionpeople) located in a 2,000 square kilometer arearequiring buried infrastructure. Even though theplant was built with used equipment from theUnited States, it will add to the volume of HDPEpipe entering the market.

An unexpected ally to the Mexican concretepipe industry arrived in 2005 during the seriesof hurricanes that devastated United States GulfCoast infrastructure and parts of the MayanRiviera. An unprecedented series of category3, 4 and 5 storms damaged oil platforms. Dis-ruption to the U.S. crude oil supply from theGulf raised the price of oil to the point whereHDPE pipe manufactured with imported rawmaterials became more expensive than concretepipe using local materials. This unexpected turn

of events occurred around the same time thatthe Juventino Rosas project was being bid. Inaddition, some local government officials startedto wonder about the claims made by HDPEproducers when reports of pipeline failures be-

8


Grupo Mondragon is one of the oldest and mostrespected concrete pipe producers in Mexico withmore than 60 years of experience. With nine facilitiesin Mexico, Mondragon produces concrete pipe withthe greatest number of Besser and Pedershaabmachines in Mexico.

Project: Sanitary Trunk SewerJuventino Rosas, Guanajuato, Bajio

Zone, MexicoOwner: Comision Estatal de Agues de GuanajuatoContractor: Buga Construcciones, S.A. De C.V.

San Luis Potos’, SLPEng. Fernando Piña, Site Representative

Producer: Tubos Y Construcciones de Queretaro,S.A. De C.V.

Queretaro, Qro, MexicoQuantities: 1,925 meters of 30-inch Reinforced

Concrete Pipe(with rubber compound gaskets)

822 meters 36-inch Reinforced ConcretePipe(with rubber compound gaskets)

gan to surface.As prices of HDPE rose, officials of the

Guanajuato State Water Commission began toquestion their own specification for HDPE pipeon a project requiring almost three kilometersof sanitary drainage pipe. The Commission wasfaced with changing to a more affordable ma-terial, or canceling the project. Concrete pipewas not their first choice because of lingeringconcerns about product quality.

Grupo Mondragon had established a trust-worthy relationship with the contractor awardedthe project, Buga Construcciones, S.A. De C.V.of San Luis Potos’, SLP. Buga has been install-ing HDPE pipe over the past three years, as itsuse is encouraged by government officials.When Grupo Mondragon staff explained the“whole enchilada” of how HDPE pipes shouldbe installed and treated, the contractor realizedthe level of risk and liability that faced his com-pany, if he continued to install flexible pipewithout clear local standards, or in the samemanner in which rigid pipe is installed.

Buga Construcciones immediately ap-proached the Guanajuato State Water Commis-sion and explained why reinforced concretepipe would be the best option for constructingtwo sanitary sewer networks to the plant. TheCommission agreed and the project was sup-plied with concrete pipe instead of HDPE pipe.This decision is considered by GrupoMondragon as the turning point in the struggleto re-take its share of the Mexican pipe market.Following this decision, several major projectsspecified for HDPE pipe were changed to con-crete, including a 96-inch storm sewer for theCity of Guadalajara, and an eight-inch diam-eter 12-kilometer sanitary sewer drainage sys-tem in the town of Villa de Arista, San LuisPotosi.

Grupo Mondragon supplied the concretepipe from its facility, “Tubos Y Construccionesde Queretaro, S.A. De C.V.” in Queretaro, Qro,located 50 miles from the project. Althoughproduction of concrete pipe with O-Ringgasketed joints was more time consuming, sincepipe produced from the Besser machine wereeight feet in length, the pipe shipped to the

project were high quality, and the shippingschedule was able to keep pace with the in-stallation speed of the contractor. The installa-tion crew was able to lay approximately sixtymeters, daily.

The project commenced at the beginningof December. Pipe started to arrive on site onDecember 10, but due to Christmas holidays,the project stopped for the last ten days of themonth. By February 2, 2006, Mondragon haddelivered 60 percent of the order. The projectis expected to be completed by April.

The struggle by Mexican concrete pipe pro-ducers to take back their market from HDPEpipe producers will be challenging due in partto the location of Mexican HDPE pipe produc-tion plants in close proximity to major mar-kets. It is clear, however, that Mexican concretepipe producers can regain market share by fol-lowing the lead of Grupo Mondragon who iswinning back its market project-by-project withhigh quality concrete pipe, open-minded con-tractors, and the resources of the AmericanConcrete Pipe Association.

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Two fifty millimeter diameter reinforced concretepipe being installed over 3.5 kilometer alignment.

Photos: Marie-Josée Huot

Québec Transportation Ministry SetsPolicy for Pipe Under Highways

A new policy for installing pipe under highways was realizedwhen construction began on the Highway 40 Phase III project inthe province of Québec, Canada. The policy was a result of alengthy review of the culvert and storm sewer construction speci-fications of the Québec Transportation Ministry (MTQ). These docu-ments entitled, Tome III – Ouvrages d’art and Tome II – Construc-

tion routière are partof the seven booksof standards pub-lished by the MTQ.In essence, thepolicy states that re-inforced concretepipe will be the onlycircular pipe allowedfor culverts andstorm sewers underhighways. Reasonssuch as durabilityand reliability seemto have justified thischoice. Culverts un-der highways mustlast a minimum of 75years and storm sew-ers must last at least50 years.

The MTQ stan-dards recommendthat concrete pipeshould be consid-ered for all othertypes of roadwayswhen it is ascer-tained that an ele-ment of risk may beencountered in the

By Domenico Miceli, ing., Miceli et Frères Ltée450-474-6189

10


following situations:• When the road is the only link to a re-

gion, and that there is no detour avail-able;

• If there is a lot of heavy traffic trans-porting dangerous or flammable mate-rial, or that the road leads to an indus-trial area;

• If there are underground public utilitiesnearby, and that work on the utilitiescould damage the culvert or stormsewer;

• If a ruptured culvert or storm sewercould have important repercussions onthe environment; and,

• When costs associated with repairs onculverts or storm sew-ers are prohibitive be-cause of high fill, costof detouring traffic, etc.

Summer, 2005 was an ex-citing time for the QuébecTransportation Ministry. In thisshort construction period, theMTQ has to manage the con-struction or repairs of manyhighways and provincialroads. Québec’s highway androads system totals 28,965 ki-lometers and 19 percent arehighways. There are 60,000culvert structures. If they wereto be joined end to end, thesestructures would extend ap-proximately 1,300 kilometers.The MTQ also owns storm sewer systems, buttheir numbers are not compiled.

The Highway 40 Phase III project was oneof the major reconstruction projects undertakenby the MTQ in the summer of 2005. The projectwas located on Highway 40 between DesSources Boulevard in Dorval and Saint-CharlesBoulevard in Kirkland, west of Montréal on thenorth shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It con-sisted of 6.1 kilometers of pavement, with anadjacent underground storm sewer system. Con-tinuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP)

was chosen as the surface pavement, since theprevious two phases were comprised of CRCP.The storm sewer system consisted of 3.5 kilo-meters of 250 mm diameter reinforced concretepipe (RCP) and 800 meters of 450 mm diam-eter RCP. The 450 mm diameter RCP was usedfor the main line and the 250 mm diameterpipe was used for interconnecting catch ba-sins. To simplify the installation, a uniform di-ameter of 250 mm was chosen as the smallestdiameter for that job. In addition, 96 specialfittings had to be manufactured to connect themain storm sewer line to the catch basins.

Miceli et Frères, a member of the AmericanConcrete Pipe Association, supplied all of the1,600 pipes and fittings that were needed for

the Phase III project. Pipe andfittings were delivered onsitewithin a 40-day schedule.

All pipe and catch basinswere manufactured accordingto Québec Bureau of Normal-ization (BNQ) standards andall products were certified bythe BNQ according to the pub-licly accessible certificationprotocol NQ2622-951. Thatcertification system is thirdparty managed by the BNQ,which is also accredited by theCanadian StandardizationCouncil to certify infrastructureproducts.

A special aspect of theproject was that the catch ba-

sins had to be installed at precise locations toaccommodate the drainage layout for the con-crete pavement. That meant that a lot of pipecutting was required to adjust RCP connectionsto every catch basin. Also, the 96 special fit-tings had to be custom made to fit properly atall connections.

According to Jean-François Gauthier, engi-neer and coordinator of the civil engineeringcomponent, the precision connections to all thecatch basins did make the installation morecomplex than usual. The overall job using RCP

Summer, 2005 was an excitingtime for the Québec Transpor-tation Ministry. In this shortconstruction period, the MTQhas to manage the constructionor repairs of many highwaysand provincial roads. Québec’shighway and roads system to-tals 28,965 kilometers and 19percent are highways. Thereare 60,000 culvert structures. Ifthey were to be joined end toend, these structures would ex-tend approximately 1,300 kilo-meters. The MTQ also ownsstorm sewer systems, but theirnumbers are not compiled.

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Excavation on connectingpipes of elliptical metalstructure caused a loss ofsoil structure and collapseof elliptical metal culvertunder Highway 40.

3000 mm diameterconcrete pipe replacedfailed metal elliptical pipe.

Project: Highway 40 Phase IIIQuébec, Canada

Owner: Ministère des Transports du Québec

Consultant: Consortium Groupe Génivar / TecsultJean-François Gauthier, ing.,coordinator of civil engineering

Groupe Génivar

GeneralContractor: Demix Construction

Longueuil, Québec

Excavation: Les excavations Panthère

Sub Contractor: Blainville, Québec

Producer: Miceli et Frères LtéeMascouche, Québec

Quantities: 3.5 kilometers of 250 mm diameterClass III RCP

800 meters of 450 mm diameterClass III RCP

Miceli et Frères, founded in 1971, is one of the majorconcrete pipe producers in Québec. Located inMascouche, north of Montréal, Miceli et Frèresspecializes in circular concrete pipe (250 mm to 3600mm diameter), boxes and CON/SPAN archedstructures. In 2004, Miceli et Frères opened a secondproduction facility in Saint-Jérôme on the north shoreof the St. Lawrence River near Montréal. Miceli etFrères employs approximately 50 people. The companyis a member of the American Concrete PipeAssociation, the Canadian Concrete Pipe Associationand Tubécon (Québec Concrete Pipe Association). Seewww.miceli.biz for information.

did go well and on schedule. Pipe inspectorsfound the concrete pipe installations easy tocheck.

Bidding for Phase IV of Highway 40 projectended in early February 2006, with tender docu-ments complying with Québec’s new policy.Complete concrete solutions for highwaysshould mean long-term durability and returnon investments for Québec taxpayers.

Metal Pipe Failure Under Highway 40On September 14 2005, a 7.6 meter span x

5 meter rise elliptical metal structure collapsedand caused the closing of Highway 40 nearTrois-Rivières. Highway 40 is a major highwayon the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River,running from Ontario to east of Québec City.Excavation on connecting pipes caused a lossof soil structure and the collapse of the ellipti-cal pipe. Two lines of circular concrete pipe,

3000 mm in di-ameter, installedin parallel linesreplaced thefailed metal el-liptical pipestructure. Miceliet Frères re-sponded quickly and supplied the large diam-eter concrete pipe to get that section of thehighway reopened to the public.

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Photos: ACPC Fond du Lac

Fond du Lac, located at the southern endof Lake Winnebago, is the hub of residential,commercial, industrial, and institutional activ-ity for the region, as well as the center for waste-water treatment. The catchment area for itswastewater treatment facility contains approxi-mately 94 square miles, servicing a populationof approximately 55,000. The sanitary sewerarea surrounds the southern one-third of LakeWinnebago, encompassing portions of threecounties, ten individual municipalities andtwelve individual sanitary districts.

The Fond du Lac regional treatment facilitywas designed for a maximum average daily flowof 11,000,000 gallons per day (11 mgd.) overa planning period that extended beyond 2020.Recent growth in the area required that theplant be modified to include facilities thatwould handle peak hourly flows of 16 mgd.for the total 50 mgd. peak hourly flow.Much of the City’s collection interceptors

are comprised of48-inch,

By J.P. Nolan, Vice-PresidentAmerican Concrete Pipe Company920-494-3436

42-inch, and 36-inch diameter reinforced con-crete pipe (RCP). Included in the project wasthe resizing of the plant’s influent and outfallsewer, as well as modification to the plant’sonsite concrete pipe storm sewer. The expan-sion of the plant and modification of associ-ated sewerage systems is expected to be com-plete by October 2008.

Concrete pipe for the project was suppliedby American Concrete Pipe Co., Inc. The RCPsanitary sewer was constructed to convey mixedliquor, final effluent, excess flow and raw waste-water. Sanitary and storm sewer pipe was pro-duced to ASTM C76 for circular pipe. Sanitarysewer pipe was produced with a C wall designand smooth exterior wall (no bell). Joints of

the smooth wall in-stallations

City Has Long Historyof Using ReinforcedConcrete Pipe

13


were provided with an external bitumastic wrapthat was secured on the pipe with a stainlesssteel band seal connector on each side of thejoint. Joints had to meet ASTM C443 and allpipe was produced to accommodate the O-ringgaskets of ASTM C361. Specifications for thestorm sewers required end walls at all dis-charges. Specifications also called for one lifthole per length of pipe for the storm sewerunits and no lift holes in the sanitary pipe.

All RCP and fittings for the sanitary sewerwas vacuum tested to 15 psi. The test result,test date, pipe class, date of production, andindividual pipe identification was marked oneach unit of pipe. Inspection engineers wereprovided the opportunity to observe vacuumtesting.

In the field, staff of J.F. Ahern Co., carriedout the infiltration and exfiltration testing of theRCP lines. Established in 1880, J.F. Ahern is oneof the largest mechanical contractors in the Na-tion specializing in (among others), municipalwater and wastewater treatment plants. J.F.Ahern was responsible for constructing the newfinal effluent sewer and outfall structure to LakeWinnebago, as well as construction of the plantsewer to allow for drainage of the new primaryclarifiers and new 72-inch diameter effluentsewer.

Construction of the effluent sewer had totake place without disruption to the treatmentefficiency of the plant that was established priorto construction, and no bypassing of wastewa-ter was permitted during construction. Connec-tions of the new storm and sanitary sewer linesto existing sanitary and storm sewers werephased into the completion of the expandedfacilities of the wastewater treatment plant. Ata time of low flow, the City shut down the in-fluent pumping station to allow the contractorto make the connection between the existing60-inch diameter sewer and the new 72-inchdiameter RCP outfall.

The Fond du Lac Water Pollution ControlPlant gives testimony to the reliability and per-formance of reinforced concrete pipe under themost demanding design considerations. The

Established in 1946, American Concrete Pipe (ACP)is a producer of reinforced concrete pipe and otherinfrastructure products. The company has facilitiesin Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ACP’sproducts include reinforced concrete storm andsanitary sewer pipe, PVC-lined reinforced concretepipe, reinforced concrete culvert pipe and reinforcedconcrete end walls, manholes, catch basins, boxesfor culverts, box manholes and custom structures.ACP became the first automated concrete pipeproducer in the United States when they upgradedthe Milwaukee facility in 1987. In 2000 ACPcompletely automated their facility in Green Bay. ACPis a subsidiary of The Spancrete Group, Inc. Seewww.spancrete.com for more information.

Project: Water Pollution Control Plant ModificationsFond du Lac, Wisconsin

Owner: City of Fond du Lac, WisconsinConsultingEngineer: Strand Associates, Inc.

Madison, WisconsinGeneralContractor: C.D. Smith Construction

Fond du Lac, WisconsinSubContractor: J.F. Ahern Co.,

Fond du Lac, WisconsinDave Le May

Producer: American Concrete Pipe Co., Inc.Green Bay, WisconsinJ.P. Nolan-Vice PresidentTim Whitehouse- Production Manager

Quantities: Sanitary Sewer1,240 feet of 72-inch diameter Class III RCP520 feet of 60-inch diameter Class III RCP888 feet of 54-inch diameter Class IV RCP8 feet of 42-inch diameter Class IV RCP275 feet of 72-inch diameter Class IV RCP10 feet of 48-inch diameter Class IV RCPStorm Sewer864 feet of 30-inch diameter Class III RCP600 feet of 24-inch diameter Class III RCP672 feet of 18-inch diameter class III RCP240 feet of 15-inch diameter Class III RCP1,840 feet of 12-inch diameter Class III RCP

City has been using concrete pipe for its sani-tary and storm sewers for decades. Fond duLac serves as a model community where itsinfrastructure is built to last.

14


tive officers must approve funding to repair and replacesections of infrastructure that have experienced prematuredegradation.

Portland’s “Least Cost” statute “does not require thecity to buy the cheapest available product. The Portlandcase confirms a municipality’s right to ask their engineersto include life cycle cost analysis in their design processfor pipe material selection. The Portland decision also con-firms the municipality’s right to choose based on soundengineering. GASB 34 demands it. This decision may alsoprovide more opportunities for contractors, as they can workwith a municipality’s design or specification engineers todeliver projects that do not necessarily include the lowestbid price using the cheapest first cost pipe material. Whenlong-term performance of buried infrastructure is in amunicipality’s best interest, concrete pipe is often the firstchoice.

Brochures prepared to assist in the marketing and salesof products sometimes present convincing arguments ontheir own, if the recipients of the publications are not fa-miliar with the science and performance of the product.Civil engineers have the knowledge to make choices andappreciate published materials from suppliers to assist inthe decision making process. They do not need unneces-sary or misinformed pressure from elected representatives,outside forces such as lobbyists, and legal interpretationof municipal policy to make that decision for them. ThePortland case has removed some of this pressure from theengineer so that informed independent choices can be rec-ommended to enhance the value and performance of amunicipality’s infrastructure.

In the event that recommendations from design engi-neers are ignored or changed without the engineer’s con-sent, the municipality’s engineer or consulting engineer canreference the Portland decision and ask the contractor orproduct supplier to sign a contract accepting all responsi-bility for the performance of the installation thereby remov-ing all risk and liability from the engineer.

The Portland vs. ADS case is important for municipaland consulting engineers to understand. It does have im-plications for the city and may have far-reaching effects onthe way public agencies control the value of their buriedinfrastructure asset. The choice of products and materialshas been confirmed as resting with the design or specify-ing civil engineer, and not with the marketing and salesambitions of a manufacturer or retailer.

The 2005 winner of theRichard C. LongfellowAward was Jeff Hite ofRinker Materials – ConcretePipe Division in Miami,Florida. He was also the2004 winner. Jeff was hon-ored at the 2006 AmericanConcrete Pipe AssociationAnnual General Meeting inScottsdale, Arizona. His ar-

ticle, “Precast Box Storm Water Vault Meets Envi-ronmental and Structural Design Challenges” waspublished in the summer, 2005 issue. The articleaddressed the treatment of storm water before itis released into water bodies. The use of stormwater ponds for treatment is not always desirable,or feasible. He used the Westshore Yacht Club,located in South Tampa, Florida to describe howa precast concrete system solved problems relatedto final grade limitations, water table concerns,and construction costs. His article was edited andre-published in Engineering News Record in 2005.

Mr. Hite’s 2004 article focused on lessonslearned about making the right choice for culvertpipe. Residents of the River’s Edge Street Subdivi-sion in Jupiter Florida banded together to replacea failing high density polyethylene pipe installa-tion with a reinforced concrete box culvert. Resi-dents had taken a contractor’s advice to installHDPE pipe instead of concrete because of a lowerinitial cost of the culvert material.

Every year, a Concrete Pipe News author ishonored with the Richard C. Longfellow Award.The tribute is presented to the author of an articlethat most effectively demonstrates innovative andeffective use of concrete pipe. The award is pre-sented in memory of Richard Longfellow who hadan outstanding career with Cretex Companies, Inc.based in Elk River, Minnesota. He significantlyinfluenced the philosophy and goals of the ACPA,and played a leading role on technical matters.He was responsible for drafting a new concretepipe design manual and initiated Concrete PipeNews. As a director of the Association, he was theforce behind the establishment of the $1 millionconcrete pipe test program at Northwestern Uni-versity to establish industry-wide standards forproduct quality.

Jeff Hite Wins His Second Longfellow Award

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editoralcontinued from page 2

American Concrete Pipe Association222 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 641

Irving, TX 75039-5423

www.concrete-pipe.org

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

US POSTAGE PAIDDALLAS, TX

PERMIT NO 1883

Underground Storm Water Storage Systems Brochure ReleasedIn areas prone to heavy rain-

falls or flash flooding, an un-derground detention systemallows for the collection andstorage of the storm waterthat can later be dischargedinto the municipal systemat a controlled rate. In dryareas, water can bestored for use duringdroughts or othertimes of need. Thebenefits of under-ground storagetanks are as nu-merous, as are theconfigurations andmaterials used to build them.

ACPA has released its brochure on stormwater storage systems that focuses on the many benefitsof managing storm water with underground storage sys-

ACPA Resource Center675 Grigsby Way

Cedar Hill, TX 75104-2537Tel: 800.290.2272 or 972.293.2171 (for questions or

to place an order)Fax: 972.291.0622

tems designed with precast concrete pipe and boxes. In-cluded in the brochure is reference to ACPA’s

DASH (Detention And Sewer Hydraulics)software. DASH is an easy-to-use inter-

active design software for undergroundstorm water detention systems, storm sew-

ers and sanitary sewers. The software is usedto determine the storage volume required for

a site by a variety of methods including HEC-1, TR-55, TR-20, and Modified Rational

Method.The brochure is available on the ACPA’s Web

site as a viewable document only, and may be pur-chased through the ACPA’s Resource

Center.

Documents

The Magazine of the American Concrete Pipe …...concrete pipe, citing concerns about the structural integ-rity and lifespan of HDPE as compared to concrete. In 2004, Advanced Drainage