Construction crews backfilled the trench after finishing pipe installation and prepared the road for traffic flow in the morning.Click here to enlarge imageThe utility decided to install the four-mile water line under the road so that its route did not run into schools, businesses, or industries. The line was laid under State Road 848 in a crowded area east of San Juan by a local contractor, Longo P.R.
Most of the pipeline was laid at night to minimise traffic disruption. Construction crews backfilled the trench after finishing their work and prepared it for the next morning's traffic. The task was made immeasurably more difficult by an extensive network of utilities - telephone, electric and cable lines - encountered along the pipeline route.
The utility selected ductile iron pipe manufactured by American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO), based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, for the St. Just project largely because of its field adaptability. ACIPCO ductile iron pipe is precision cut in the field, which enables crews to work around underground utilities and unexpected obstacles. Thirty- and 42-inch-diameter pipes were installed.
"We prayed every night that we didn't hit a utility," said Eric Flores, general manager/Metropolitan Region for Compania de Aguas de Puerto Rico, which is in charge of administration and water service for the island. "There were lots of existing utilities underground, and you can do more work with ACIPCO ductile iron pipe with less damage to utilities. It's more manageable in the field and provides more flexibility during installation. If you run into a utility you don't think is there, you can go back and cut the ductile iron pipe to the size that you need and work around the utility. The joints on ACIPCO pipe provided thrust restraint without the use of concrete thrust blocks."
