Pittsburgh awards $8.4M main rehabilitation contract

The city's water authority awarded its Rising Main 4 Improvements Project, where crews will line 50-inch and 48-inch diameter water mains, to Structure Preservation Systems LLC.
Nov. 1, 2022
2 min read
Photos courtesy PWSA.
Workers lining Rising Main 3. The awarded project will have similar work done for Rising Main 4.
Workers lining Rising Main 3. The awarded project will have similar work done for Rising Main 4.

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) awarded its $8.4 million Rising Main 4 Improvements Project to Structural Preservation Systems LLC.

The project is to renew a key distribution pipe in the city’s water system. It is part of a suite of large-scale water system improvements that PWSA calls the Water Reliability Plan.

Rehabilitation of the nearby Rising Main 3 will be wrapping up in winter of this year. The work on Rising Main 3 involved replacing about 1,900 feet of pipe and, using trenchless technology, to line over 3,800 feet of pipe. The same trenchless method will be used for the work on Rising Main 4.

Rising Main 4 is one of the largest pipes in Pittsburgh's water distribution system.
Rising Main 4 is one of the largest pipes in Pittsburgh's water distribution system.
As part of the Rising Main 4 project, crews will line 50-inch and 48-inch diameter steel pipe, and 48-inch diameter concrete pipe, with a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). This trenchless method of restoring the pipe from the inside was selected after the design process. Trenchless lining is a cost-effective and less disruptive method of rehabilitation. Some sections of the pipe that cannot be lined will be replaced by digging. Structural Preservation Systems LLC is one of a handful of firms nationwide with expertise in rehabilitating this length and diameter of pipe.

Crews will also complete additional condition assessment using electromagnetic technology on a portion of pipe that was not previously surveyed during the design process. Conducting this survey involves lowering a team of skilled technicians into the pipe where they will visually inspect its interior condition and perform a robotic inspection using electromagnetic waves to detect deficiencies in the pipe.

“We are excited to kick off the second phase of work on these large and critical rising mains. Renewing this aging infrastructure will ensure reliable service as we implement the massive Water Reliability Plan,” says PWSA CEO Will Pickering. “Financing this work with low-interest PENNVEST loans and low-interest federal loans anticipated from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) will, over time, reduce the burden on ratepayers.”

Construction is anticipated to begin in March 2023 and finish by end of the year.

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