TRENCHLESS | RED RIVER VALLEY
Mclean County Sheridan County
Wells County Sykeston Washburn
Future RRVWSP pipeline
Burleigh County Kidder County
Transmission pipeline East contract 5A
Stutsman County Barnes County
Foster County Carrington
Griggs County
Glenfield Cooperstown
N
Wyard TWP
Red River Valley and Western Railroad
HWY 200 / HWY 52
Future RRVWSP pipeline by others
Begin contract 5A Carrington
Transmission pipeline East contract 5A
End contract 5A
Carrington TWP
Rose Hill TWP HWY 200
Future RRVWSP pipeline by others
Foster County Above, figure 6: Contract 5a location
Bordulac TWP
CONTRACT 5A
Contract 5a has been completed through detailed design and construction. This contract consisted of a single trenchless crossing installed under U.S. Highway 52/281, the Red River Valley and Western Railroad, and several buried utilities as part of the 1-1/4-mile-long pipeline segment (Figure 6). The crossing was 430-ft long and installed in a
two-pass method using a 96-inch diameter carrier pipe at -1.00% slope through glacial till containing elastic silts, sandy lean clays, cobbles, and boulders. Given the presence of a variable high groundwater table, preferred means and methods for microtunneling and construction of launch and reception shafts were presented within the Contract Documents; shaft support methods included: steel ribs with gasketed liner plates, secant piles, slurry walls, or interlocking sheet piles with bracing. Minger proposed using an engineered slide rail system
as temporary excavation support for the launching and reception shafts in lieu of those listed in the Contract Documents, which was approved and used to support excavation. An EPBM machine was used to advance the 96-inch
carrier pipe tunnel through silts and clays with a high potential to clog excavation equipment. While the machine was effective in mining through silts and clays, some difficulties were experienced when boulders with frequency and parameters beyond those described in the Contract Documents were encountered during tunnel construction. Boulders and cobbles are obstructions
34 | Fall 2023
to forward progress during tunneling, which result in slowed advancement rates and differential cutterhead wear. After some alterations to advancement rate and face pressure, the first pass of the tunnel was complete, and the 72-inch diameter steel pipeline was installed within it. Additional challenges on Contract 5a included
careful monitoring and control of groundwater and settlement to ensure the existing railroad and utilities were minimally impacted by trenchless work. Minger used automated, real-time settlement monitoring instrumentation to ensure instantaneous notification of undue settlement.
CONCLUSION At present, Contracts 5b, 5c, and 5d are under construction. Contracts 6a, 6b, and 7 are currently in various stages of detailed design and will be bid and awarded accordingly. Missouri River Intake Contract 3 is still in the preliminary design stage and will proceed forward in tandem with the completion of the pipeline contracts. The RRVWSP has been a monumental coordination
effort between many federal, state, and local entities to protect these communities and economy from the devastating effects of drought. The challenge of conveying water across the state is a daunting one, however leveraging trenchless installation methods has helped to bring the state one step closer to implementing its program to protect the state’s future.
Red River Valley and Western Railroad
Canadian Pacific Railroad
HWY 281 / HWY 52
Red River Valley and Western Railroad
HWY 281
Canadian Pacific Railroad
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