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Operation: Slide RailIcon Equipment Distributors Inc. Shores inClose QuartersCompiled by UC StaffThe shoring mission Icon Equipment Distributors Inc.accepted involved the installation of several utilities in fiveindividual 16-in. steel casings under Whitney Ave. at YaleUniversity. Giordano Construction of Branford, Conn., decidedto go with pilot tube-guided auger boring, but werestill looking for a shoring solution.Before Giordano Construction broke ground, it had severalpre-bid and pre-construction meetings. Working closelywith the contractor, Icon provided a slide rail shoring system,specifically engineered for the tight conditions of theproject. Icon supplied two slide rail systems for the jackingand receiving pits required for the trenchless crossing underWhitney Ave. The jacking pit was 32 ft long, 16.4 ft wideand 16 ft deep, while the receiving pit was 16.4 ft wide,11.48 ft long and 16 ft deep on the other side of the road.Once onsite, Icon provided installation training for theslide rail system, as well as all operator training and expertisefor the pilot tube boring system being rented. In additionto the steel casing being installed, which needed utilityaccess with its internal waler frames and utility panels, Iconalso supplied additional frames and panels to sheet aroundperpendicular utilities encountered approximately 5 ft underground.“Icon provided all the site specific engineering designwith a CT. P.E. stamp on all drawings and calculationsheets, as well as safety and assembly guides that are givendirectly to the crew for reference and material on site,” saysDavid Crandall, Vice President of Sales and Marketing atIcon Equipment Distributors Inc. “Our field technicianswere onsite to provide training, assistance and ensure thesafe operation and clean installation of the slide rail systemsfor the project.”With Icon professionals on the job lending a helping hand,the slide rail system was successfully installed and allowedthe job to be completed safely.Bridge to ShoreMabey Calms Troubled Jobsite SeasCompiled by UC StaffAdaptability is the key. One trench shoring solution doesn’tfit all, and Mabey Bridge and Shore knows it. When the Orlando,Fla.-based Central Florida Underground was contractedto install a concrete intake structure — supplying coolingwater for a local power plant — 30 ft into a small lake, interlockingsheet pile from Mabey Bridge and Shore was tailoredto get the job done.“The project was especially difficult due to the largeamount of water (and subsequent de-watering) involvedand the distance from shore,” says Greg Richards, MarketingRepresentative for Mabey Bridge and Shore Inc. “Routineexcavations in Florida may involve greater depths than this,but only a minimal amount of groundwater. This project involvedholding back a significant amount of above-groundwater, which was a great test for Mabey’s water-resistant interlockingsheets.”Mabey sheet pile is available in a wide range of sizes forvarious applications and can be used together with Mabey’shydraulic framing systems when needed. For Central Flor-28 Utility Contractor | July 2009
ida Underground, 40-ft interlocking sheet pile was chosenbecause of its strength and ability to resist water intrusion.Mabey engineers worked with Central Florida Undergroundreps to develop a scheme utilizing these sheets,along with Mabey’s Super PowerBrace frames and cornerstruts to produce a water resistant, yet easily installed cofferdamsystem.“Minimal water intrusion created some delay initially, dueto the tremendous pressure exerted on our sheets by thelake water,” says Richards. “Mabey salesperson Dave Howardworked with Mabey engineers to minimize water intrusionand ensure dewatering took place consistently to eliminatestanding water. Howard was onsite regularly, and CFU teamswere in contact with Mabey engineers throughout the durationof the project, to ensure success.”Once completed, the shored excavation measured 52 ftwide, 32 ft long and 22 ft deep. The system held back 9 ft ofwater and 8 ft of soil. After thoroughly dewatering the excavation,the installation was completed in less than 12 weeks.The Power of ShoringPro-Tec’s Massive Safe Trenching SolutionBy Dan Stupek“For sheer size and complexity, this was by far the biggestand most interesting trench shielding job I have ever been apart of, and I’ve been working with trench shield systems forover 25 years,” says Gary Carlson, President of Gary CarlsonEquipment of Blaine, Minn., the Pro-Tec shielding and shoringdistributor for the state of Minnesota.The trench shielding job Gary Carlson talked about was aslide rail system he and his staff designed and installed foran excavation and installation of twin 900-ft long pipelinesduring construction of a new power plant in St. Paul, Minn.The dual 84-in. concrete encased steel pipes came in 25-ftlengths, which were welded together inside and outside.Project owner XCEL Energy initially envisioned the 16-ft deep, 25-ft wide excavation to be completely walled offby tight steel sheeting supported by huge waler beams andspreaders, a time- and labor-intensive method, not to mentioncostly.Carlson’s crew had a better idea. Working with XCEL’sMike Bergquist and Scott Eddy, the Carlson firm submittedan alternative that met all criteria: worker safety; ease andspeed of installation; maximum pipe length allowance; andenough work space to allow pipe welding and grouting forboth lines side by side. The slide rail system was an integralfacet in the installation of the twin 900-ft long, 84-in. diameterwater intake and outflow pipes. Room to work was aproblem. Outside diameter of each pipe was 88 in. with 5 ftof space between the twin lines. The excavation for the twinpipes had to be installed in tight quarters, a right of waybarely 30 feet wide sandwiched between a river floodwalland a concrete paved street.Carlson’s design involved a slide rail system consisting of24-ft long by 8-ft high panels that were stacked to achievethe 16-ft depth and 25-ft spreaders positioned between custom-designed27-ft long vertical spreader posts. The sliderail shoring system was 130 ft long, 25 ft wide and 16 ftdeep. This system eliminated the need for huge walers orsacrificial beams (suggested by other plans), that alone savedan estimated $115,000.With the slide rail system, as each 25-ft pipe section iswelded, grouted and tested, that portion is backfilled andcompacted and the panels and spreaders are moved by theCAT 345 excavator to the front of the trench and reinstalledby a small crew. Because the system worked so efficiently,installation rates have exceeded initial estimates. The crewaveraged 25 ft of twin pipe per day. Instead of the six-monthtimeframe originally estimated, the job was completed injust over four months.The power plant was built along St. Paul’s riverfront by XCELEnergy, a Denver-based electric power utility. The new plant isnatural gas-fueled and replaced the 83-year-old High Bridgecoal-fired plant. The combined cycle plant produces electricityfrom two sources of energy. Natural gas is used as a fuel in acombustion turbine, similar to a jet engine. Then the exhaustgas from the turbine is used to make steam in a heat recoverysteam generator. The combined cycle is about 30-percentmore efficient than a traditional steam plant. The MERP plantis one of the largest construction projects in the upper Midwestthis year.Dan Stupek is the President of Fensholt Advertising, West Allis, Wisc.July 2009 | Utility Contractor 29
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Page 8 and 9: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSNew CWC ReportSu
Page 10 and 11: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSWinds of ChangeV
Page 12: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSPassing the Torc
Page 15 and 16: any NUCA members would knowRon from
Page 17 and 18: “Two basic themes have dominated
Page 19 and 20: 100,001 to 300,000Man-hoursDeKalb P
Page 21 and 22: 1-million-plusMan-hoursJ.F. Ahern C
Page 23 and 24: Honda GeneratorThe Honda EU6500is i
Page 25 and 26: Wacker Neuson Light TowerWacker Neu
Page 27: Trench Shoring Manufacturers Rememb
Page 31 and 32: INSIDE WASHINGTONing the $787 billi
Page 33 and 34: SAFETY MANAGEMENTthe observations a
Page 35 and 36: NUCA NEWSNUCA Government Relations
Page 38: NUCA NEWS2009 NUCA Safety Directors
Page 41 and 42: THE PIPELINEInterested in seeing YO
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