va cemeteries cover the u.s.a. from hawaii to maine, and from … · miles of reinforced concrete...

VA cemeteries cover the U.S.A. from Hawaii to Maine, and from Alaska to Puerto Rico.

www.concrete-pipe.orgVolume 57 No. 4 Fall 2005

The Magazine of theAmerican Concrete Pipe Association

American Concrete Pipe Association

More than 2.5 millionAmericans, includingveterans of every war

and conflict—from theRevolutionary War toIraq—are honored by

burial in Department ofVeterans Affairs (VA)national cemeteries.

This issue:Volume 57, Number 4Fall 2005Concrete 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 LambertControllerMedia 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 - Hydro ConduitValley, NERobert PowersInland Pipe LimitedEdmonton, AlbertaRobert 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 2005 ACPA

Regular DepartmentsPresident's Message ................................................................................................................. 3President Matt Childs is introduced. His background and immediate plans for the ACPA aresummarized.

And Now You Know...Our Nation's Highway Drainage Culverts Need Assessing .............................................................. 4The implementation of a culvert management program to determine the physical condition of the U.S.highway drainage system is critical to the long-term health of the Nation’s transportation infrastructure.A Culvert Assessment Program needs to be implemented nationwide instead of reacting to catastrophicfailures.

Feature StoryHere Lie The Valiant .................................................................................................................... 6The new 544-acre Great Lakes National Cemetery located in Holly, Michigan is serviced with almost 1.5miles of reinforced concrete pipe and a 76-foot (8-foot x 8-foot) precast concrete box culvert at itsentrance. Product was selected based on proven service life to match the estimated time required toserve the needs of area veterans without maintenance of the system.

StoriesBuild A Railway With Precast Concrete Boxes – And They Will Come.......................................... 9Precast reinforced concrete box sections were used to construct two railway tunnels in a huntingreserve. The tunnels house sections of the railway used to carry hunters safely to and from their hunt.Box sections were specially designed to support the weight of the train, anchor the rails and ties, andconnect with tight joints to reduce migration of fines and penetration of water into the tunnels.

Innovative Manhole Drop Structure Used To Construct Storm Water Outfall .............................. 12Precast concrete manhole components, reinforced concrete pipe, and concrete jacking pipe were usedto construct a 103-foot deep drop structure to help manage storm water discharged from adevelopment in Toronto Ontario, Canada. The structure is believed to be the deepest in Canada forcompleting a stormwater management system for a residential development.

DOT Award 2006 Launched ....................................................................................................... 15The American Concrete Pipe Association has announced its first annual Project Achievement Award. Ithas been established to recognize state Departments of Transportation and their leaders that havedemonstrated creativity and innovation through projects that have been designed using precastconcrete pipe or boxes.

Winning The Longfellow Is A Great Tribute ................................................................................ 16Every year, a Concrete Pipe News author is honored with the Richard C. Longfellow Award. The tributeis presented to the author of an article that most effectively demonstrates innovative and effective useof concrete pipe.

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CONCRETE PIPE NEWS www.concrete-pipe.org FALL 2005

table ofcontents

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

The search for a new President of theAmerican Concrete Pipe Association is over.Matt Childs, P.E., former Director of Engineer-ing Services with the ACPA officially took thereins from outgoing President, John Duffy, P.E.on August 8. Matt holds a Bachelor Degree inBusiness Administration from Baylor Univer-sity as well as a Bachelor Degree and MasterDegree in Civil Engineering from the Univer-sity of Texas at Arlington. He is the fourth gen-eration of businessmen and engineers in hislineage that have dedicated their careers tothe precast concrete pipe industry since the1930s.

The concrete pipe industry is in the midstof a pitched battle for share of the storm drain-age and sanitary sewer pipe market through-out North America. The seamless transitionbetween Presidents ensures continued momen-tum in the implementation of ACPA’s very suc-cessful marketing campaign. While serving asDirector of Engineering Services, Matt workedwith all ACPA committees. He helped developthe marketing material for the Association andplanned many ACPA training courses. The tra-

dition of strong leadership at the ACPA willcontinue under Matt’s watch.

Over the next few years, Childs’ focus willbe completion of the goals of the Strategic Planwhile maintaining the ACPA’s core programsto increase market share. The ACPA is the onlyentity that can accomplish the coordination ofa major marketing effort between the manydifferent companies that manufacture concretepipe products. As President, Matt will provideleadership in coordinating marketing effortsin geographic regions that are most in need ofmarketing support. Poorly written concretepipe specifications in various regions of theNation need to be rewritten, and local cam-paigns organized to change such specifications.

Continuous mergers and acquisitions in theindustry, and entry of new producers are moni-tored closely by the ACPA, as it implementsplans for attracting new producer and associ-ate members. Childs is personally committedto increasing membership to develop the re-sources that the ACPA needs to build marketshare for concrete pipe, without placing un-due financial burden on existing members.

Working within a small organization for thepast five years, Childs knows that staff andthe directors could sometimes communicatemore effectively to the membership. He plansto make better use of technology and majorspeaking opportunities to keep the member-ship better informed of ACPA initiatives, edu-cation opportunities, industry issues, publicawareness and marketing events. This spacein Concrete Pipe News will be used for pro-vocative and challenging editorials to stimu-late interest in concrete pipe and a better un-derstanding of industry issues. Matt plans tobe a highly visible and communicative Presi-dent.

Matt is a member of American Society ofCivil Engineers, Transportation Research Board,and Board of Advisors for University of TexasArlington Civil Engineering Chi Epsilon HonorSociety. Married for 10 years, he and wifeNancy have two children, Sarah and Ben.

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FALL 2005 www.concrete-pipe.org CONCRETE PIPE NEWS

president'smessage

President Eisenhower’s com-mitment to build a national high-way system led to its initial con-struction in the mid 1950s. Witha highway system now fiftyyears old, and just past the

threshold of the 21st century, many originalbridges, pavements, and culverts are reach-ing the end of their intended service life.Along with the aging highway system is anincreased need to replace and upgrade road-ways that are fast becoming functionally

obsolete. State De-partments of Trans-portation (DOT) andmunicipalities arebeing asked to re-solve these infra-structure issues withfewer resources.They are also receiv-ing pressure fromlegislators, citizensand bonding com-

panies to account fortheir resource allocationdecisions. Therefore,managing resources andinfrastructure assets inmuch the same way thatprivate enterprise does,is a tactic used by an in-creasing number of

DOTs and municipalities. Along with assetmanagement tools, the Nation needs aCulvert Assessment Program (CAP).

One of the tools that DOTs are using tomanage their assets is the GovernmentalAccounting Standards Board (GASB) State-

By Michael W. Beacham, P.E.American Concrete Pipe Association402-797-7101

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and now youknow...

ment 34. Past Director, Madeleine Bloom ofthe FHWA’s Office of Asset Management saidin her introduction to the GASB 34 Primer:

“Clearly GASB Statement 34 presents trans-portation agencies with an unparalleled op-portunity to make other government officialsand citizens aware of the value of the signifi-cant transportation assets that governmentsown and operate and the maintenance theyrequire. Statement 34 will heighten awarenessof the importance of investment in these assetsand pinpoint the need to preserve their condi-tion. State transportation officials, therefore,will continue to be interested in the Statementto the degree that it impacts their accountabil-ity for these same transportation assets.”

GASB 34 requires that state and local gov-ernments determine the costs associated withinitial construction, subsequent capital im-provements and the cost associated with us-ing the asset. Governments can account forthese costs by either using a straight-line de-preciation method or a modified/preservationapproach. National Cooperative Highway Re-search Program (NCHRP) Report 19-07 statesthat “Our research has shown that many trans-portation and finance officials believe thatGASB’s depreciation of infrastructure is mean-ingless because it does not reflect how assetsare managed or used.” Therefore, the modi-fied approach appears to be the method ofchoice. The modified approach requires gov-ernments to meet these minimum four require-ments:

• Conduct a current inventory of eligibleassets.

• Document the condition of those as-sets via a reproducible assessment pro-cedure.

• Demonstrate that assets are being pre-served at a level predetermined by thegovernment.

• Estimate the actual cost to maintain andpreserve the assets.

Although GASB 34 is mandated and moni-tored by an auditing agency, there are no

guidelines that suggest culverts be an integralpart of a DOT’s asset network. Many StateDOTs ignore inserting highway culverts as aline item under “eligible assets”. There is alsono Federal Highway requirement that culvertswith a span less than twenty feet be inspected.Therefore, the inventory, condition assessmentand preservation of highway drainage culvertsare not being considered on a consistent na-tionwide level.

The implementation of a culvert manage-ment program to determine the physical con-dition of our highway drainage system is criti-cal to the long-term health of the Nation’stransportation infrastructure. Prior to the midnineteen-sixties our Nation’s bridges shared acommon malaise that our highway drainagestructures are experiencing today—they werenot being inspected on a routine basis. In 1967forty-seven people died in the Silver Bridgecollapse because bridge infrastructure had notbeen assessed. The National Bridge Inspec-tion Program (NBIP) was instituted becauseof this collapse. A Culvert Assessment Pro-gram needs to be implemented nationwide ina proactive manner in lieu of reacting to acatastrophe like the Silver Bridge collapse.Bridges are structures built above ground.Drainage culverts are structures built belowground. Both have the potential for disastrousfailures. The structural integrity of drainageculverts is critical to our country’s nationaldefense and socio-economic vitality. Millionsof dollars, numerous injuries and lives can besaved by implementing CAP.

Most State DOTs lack the discretionaryfunds to perform this essential work. There-fore, if CAP is to be implemented nationwide,federal funding needs to be secured. TheAmerican Concrete Pipe Association is cur-rently working on forming a Coalition of StateDOTs that have begun their own culvert in-spection programs. This Coalition would au-thor a draft proposal that calls for federal fund-ing to implement CAP.

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Photo: URS Corporation

Public Information Cente

George F. Root was completing words andmusic of the “Battle Cry of Freedom” in thesummer of 1862 that would be adopted as ananthem (in different versions) by both theUnion and the Confederacy. It was the secondsummer of a terrible war that few had believedwould last more than several months. Placeslike Wilson’s Creek, Bull Run, Shiloh, and FortDonelson had already seen the deaths of 43,625Union and Confederate soldiers.

On July 17 of that year, Congress enactedlegislation that authorized the President to pur-chase grounds to be used as national cemeter-ies for soldiers. Fourteen cemeteries were es-tablished that first year, including one inSharpsburg, Maryland where 4,476 Union sol-diers were laid to rest after the one-day Battleof Antietam.

More than 2.5 million Americans, includ-ing veterans of every war and conflict—fromthe Revolutionary War to Iraq—are honoredby burial in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)national cemeteries. More than 14,200 acres ofland from Hawaii to Maine, and from Alaskato Puerto Rico are devoted to thememorialization of those who served this Na-tion. In November 2001, the VA opened its120th cemetery. Currently, there are 60 VAcemeteries in 34 states. In 1999 and 2003, Con-gress directed VA to establish 12 new nationalcemeteries – one in Oklahoma, one in Ala-bama, two in California, three in Florida, onein Georgia, one in Michigan, two in Pennsyl-vania and one in South Carolina. They are lo-cated near large populations of veterans whocurrently do not have access to aburial option.

The new 544-acre Great LakesNational Cemetery located inHolly, Michigan will serve theneeds of approximately 460,000veterans who reside within 75miles of the cemetery for the next50 years. These veterans willneed approximately 71,000graves by the year 2030.

In close proximity to Detroitand with access to major high-

by Robin WoodburyPremarc Corporation616-527-7235

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Feature Story

er for the Great Lakes National Cemetery

ways, Holly was a natural choice for the Na-tional Cemetery. The centerpiece of the prop-erty is a 70-acre spring-fed lake, which willserve as a backdrop for burial services. An en-vironmental assessment for the site by the VAin October 2001, led to its purchase in Sep-tember 2002. The design team of URS Corpo-ration and the LA Group was contracted bythe VA to produce the Master Plan, Phase Idesign documents and to provide constructionsupport services.

Design and construction was planned infive phases. The approximate 70-acre Phase Iwas designed to accommodate approximately8,000 gravesites and additional columbarianiches. A three to five acre early turn over “fasttrack” area was developed as part of the PhaseI construction. Burials were scheduled to be-gin in late 2005 in the early turn over areawhile major construction continued.

The VA stressed that the site was to be heldand regarded as solemn and sacred groundduring design and construction. With the ex-pectancy of continuous burials and ceremo-nies being held at the site, below-surface in-frastructure could not be disturbed once in-stalled. Reinforced concrete pipe was chosenfor this project because of its performancerecord that extends well beyond 100 years.

Initial soil borings revealed heavy clay witharsenic and high mineral contents. Such diffi-cult soil conditions raised concerns about pipebuoyancy and the ability of flexible pipe prod-ucts to perform long-term once installed. Con-crete pipe is least affected by forces leading to

floatation and was considered the best solu-tion for this application.

Installation of pipe in clay soils also raisedconcern about water and soil infiltration at thejoints. Grinding the spigot groove to accom-modate a tight fitting rubber compound gas-ket after the pipe has cured is one way to guar-antee joint performance. The Premarc Corpo-ration grinds all of its pipe joints, thereby en-suring a joint with high resistance to water in-filtration and soil fines migration. With dia-mond-tipped grinding wheels, Premarc is ableto produce exact dimensional joint tolerancesduring the manufacturing of the gasket seat-ing surface. Construction crews are then ableto easily and accurately install gaskets andhome the pipe.

In addition to the 7,752 feet (almost 1.5miles) of concrete pipe draining the site, a struc-ture was required on the entrance drive to crossa free-flowing river. The VA considered the in-stallation of a metal arch to cut costs on theproject. URS and the VA were provided withdocumentation detailing corrugated metal pipeculvert failures in Michigan, including the I-75culvert failure near Prudenville, which cost$3.14 million to repair. After a two-hour meet-ing, it was determined an 8-foot x 8-foot x 76-foot box culvert would provide the service lifeneeded for this project.

Established in 1903, URS is one of the larg-est engineering design firms worldwide, and aleading U.S. federal government contractor.URS employs approximately 28,000 employ-ees in a network of 300 offices and contract-specific job sites in 20 countries. Its broad-basedexpertise with federal, state and local govern-ment agencies made the firm a natural choicefor this project. The services of LA Group, lo-cated in Saratoga Springs, New York, were re-tained for the project as it had designedgravesite layouts and provided landscape ar-chitectural services for six National Cemeteryprojects.

Edge Construction of Southfield, Michiganwas awarded the $8.7 million Phase I construc-tion contract in September 2004. The ETA (earlyturnover area) phase includes the early turn

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Feature Story

Photo: The Premarc Corporation

Concrete pipe installed with rubber compound gasketsto resist water and fines infiltration at the joints.

Project: Great Lakes National CemeteryHolly Township, Oakland County,

Michigan

Owner: Department of Veterans Affairs

Engineering: URS Corporation,Farmington Hills, MichiganThe LA Group,Saratoga Springs, New York

Contractor: Edge Construction,Southfield, Michigan

Quantities: 3,696 feet of 12-inch diameter ClassIV RCP

992 feet of 15-inch diameterClass IV RCP


1,336 feet of 24-inch diameterClass IV RCP


76 feet of 8-foot x 8-foot precastconcrete box sections

Four 24-inch diameter manholesThirty-four 48-inch diameter

manholesFive 60-inch diameter manholes

Producer: Premarc CorporationDurand, Michigan

The Premarc Corporation is Michigan’s largestprecast concrete pipe manufacturer. Founded in 1927in Durand, Michigan by the Marsh family, the com-pany operated primarily in the Flint and Lansing area.In the past 15 years, it has expanded its sales terri-tory with facilities in Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Clarkston,and Durand. Premarc’s delivery fleet supplies the en-tire lower peninsula of Michigan and extends into In-diana.

Premarc’s product line includes all shapes andsizes of precast reinforced concrete sanitary and stormsewer pipes, manholes, catch basins, wet wells, andpump stations. Bridge products include concrete boxculverts, prestressed bridge beams and CON/SPAN.For more information, see www.premarc.com.

over burial area, the entrance, a temporary ad-ministration/maintenance complex, temporarycommittal service shelters, full-casket gravesites,and in-ground burial sites. The total Phase Icontract will include the ETA along with a Pub-lic Information Centre, the final administration/maintenance facility, additional in-ground burialsites and above ground columbaria niches forcremated remains.

The groundbreaking ceremony was heldOctober 14, 2004 with numerous state and fed-eral dignitaries in attendance. Construction ofthe infrastructure for the ETA was started inJanuary and completed by April 2005. Phase Iwork is under construction.

Joint design, competitive prices, as well asthe ability to provide on-time deliveriesprompted Edge Construction to choose thePremarc Corporation of Durand, Michigan tosupply various sizes of reinforced concretepipe, box sections for the entrance culvert, andmanholes.

When construction is completed in the fallof 2006, the veterans in southeast Michigan willhave a final resting place that also serves as amemorial to their National service. Use of re-inforced concrete pipe at the Great Lakes Na-tional Cemetery means that the infrastructureservicing the site will perform out of sight andout of mind as expected.

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Feature Story

Photos: Independent Concrete Pipe Company

Two hundred foot long “S” curve

box culvert tunnel constructed with

8-foot x 8-foot x 6-foot precast reinforced concrete box sections.

Michael Cimino’s 1978 film epic, The DeerHunter continued the American reverence forthe White-Tailed Deer. Much like the Americanbuffalo, this animal provided sustenance forNative Americans including tribes like the Sac,Fox, Osage and Missouri, as well as frontiers-men and explorations such as the Lewis andClark expedition that traveled up the MissouriRiver in 1804. Missouri’s dependence on its deerherds continues to this day, as deer huntersadd hundreds of millions of dollars tothe state’s economy annually. Much ofthe forests are now privately owned,and some landowners haveadopted the next level of conser-vation of the deer by introduc-ing controlled hunts on theirlands. One entrepreneur andconservationist in CrawfordCounty near Steelville, Mis-souri has introduced rail tech-nology and precast concreteboxes into his managementplan to sustain a herd of white-tailed deer on his 2500-acretract.

As an active member of the

BUILD ARAILWAY WITHPRECAST CONCRETE BOXES –

National Rifle Association, Mr. John Woods Sr.understands the value of a place where fire-arms can be enjoyed, and is building ahunter’s dream after he purchaseda train and track system froman amusement park inCalifornia.

by Tony RussoIndependent Concrete Pipe Company314-842-2900AND THEY WILL COME

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The tunnel sections had to be cut and blasted throughrock to maintain the level grade for the train and railsystem.

Maintenance and hunter access to deerstands is provided by a system of approxi-mately four miles of railway that includes twoprecast concrete box tunnels. In addition tothe railway, a roadway and reinforced con-crete pipe (RCP) storm sewer service the land.The speed by which precast concrete box sec-tions (some with special base designs) couldbe stored, delivered and installed was a de-ciding factor in the use of precast productsover cast-in-place. Use of native soil andblasted rock material for backfill was also anattractive option, as the tunnels had to meetsafety and local structural codes for transport-ing people underground. Located within 100miles of the site, Independent Concrete PipeCompany was able to deliver pipe and boxesusing its own fleet of trucks. This was impor-tant to the contractor, as it was difficult to keeplong stretches of trench stable and safe be-tween re-occurring rainfalls. Box sections hadto be on site when the contractor had an ex-cavation ready for installation.

Independent Concrete Pipe supplied 1,000feet of 8-foot x 8-foot x 6-foot reinforced con-

crete box sections with a 12-inchhaunch for the two culverts. Thefirst tunnel that was completed isa 200-foot “S” curve with a por-tion that had to be cut and blastedthrough rock to maintain a levelgrade. The boxes weredesigned to carry25 feet of fill. Thesecond tunnel is808 feet in length,also designed fordeep bury. Sincethe train locomo-tive and cars donot perform wellover steep gradesconsidering trac-tion and pull-power, the rail sys-tem had to bemaintained over alevel grade requir-ing the two sec-tions of tunnels tobe constructedthrough hilly to-pography.

The secondtunnel required aspecially designedbox to accommo-date a low flow drain-age channel and to anchor 4-inchx 4-inch x 3-foot railway ties. Thestructural design and joints alsohad to take into consideration anyvibration from the passage of thelocomotive and cars. The low flowchannel was required to keep anystorm water from flooding thetracks. The reinforcing steel in thebase of the box sections had to

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Project: Arborway T.T. and Northwestern RailroadCrawford County, Steelville, Missouri

Owner: John Woods Sr.

Engineering: Stack Design and Consulting Group,St. James, MissouriContact; Corky Stack, P.E.

Contractor: CE Contracting, Inc.,Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Quantities: 500 feet of 12-inch diameter Class IV RCP1000 feet of 18-inch diameter Class IV RCP100 feet of 21-inch diameter Class IV RCP600 feet of 24-inch diameter Class IV RCP1008 feet of 8-foot x 8-foot x 6 foot precast

concrete box sections

Producer: Independent Concrete Pipe CompanySt. Louis, Missouri

Independent Concrete Pipe Company has seven plantslocated in Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. Es-tablished in 1912, the St. Louis, Missouri Plant sup-plies reinforced concrete pipe and manholes, precastconcrete box sections and Hy-SpanTM bridges to thegrowing metropolitan area of St. Louis. For more in-formation, see www.hyspanbridge.com/icpc.htm.

be reconfigured tomaintain the 1-inchcover of concreterequired in the de-sign specificationwhile at the sametime accommodat-ing the low flowchannel. In addi-tion, some box sec-tions were deliveredwith scored ceilingvents to house a 24-inch PVC rim forventilation andlighting. The boxsections with ventswere installed every100 feet.

All boxes deliv-ered to the site wereequipped with neo-prene omniflex gas-kets. The top jointsreceived a “Miratex”joint sealant and alljoints were gasketedand wrapped with ageotextile materialto reduce the possi-bility of water andfines infiltration, as

the tunnels were used for transportingpeople and had to be free of any leaks ofwater or fines.

The storm sewer for the access roadcomprised 500 feet of 12-inch diameter,1,000 feet of 18-inch diameter, 100 feet of21-inch diameter, and 600 feet of 24-inchdiameter Class IV gasketed RCP. In somelocations, the roadway crossed the box cul-vert tunnels, and pipe outfalls were installedwith flared end sections.

Design of the rail system began in April

2003 with shop drawings at Independent Con-crete Pipe Company. With the drawings ap-proved in June, construction of the “S” curvetunnel began in October 2003. The projectwas placed on hold over the winter monthsand then resumed in the spring. By August2005, both tunnel sections had been com-pleted.

Safe hunting tracts are becoming treasuredrecreational assets in many states. TheArborway T.T. and Northwestern Railroad isan innovative approach to moving people andfirearms safely. The hunting reserve offers en-joyment and the thrill of a successful deer huntwhile maintaining important aspects ofAmerica’s heritage.

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Assembly of a standard48-inch diameter accessmanhole from thetransition structureto the surface.

Photos: Hanson Pipe andProducts Canada, Inc.

Development of tableland in the Scarborough Com-munity Council Area of the City of Toronto has been plannedfor residential use for decades. A major concern ad-dressed throughout the planning process for pro-posed developments had always been the fragilenature of the steep bluffs dropping sharply to theRouge River. Closely associated with the natureof the bluffs was the sensitivity of the river andvalley ecosystem to the impacts of develop-ment. Environmental studies and reports de-tailed the constraints to be imposed on anydevelopment of the tableland to protect theRouge River Valley and all of its elements.Proactive citizens and local residents or-ganized to be sure that environmental is-sues were addressed throughout the de-velopment application process, andsolutions to mitigate potential environ-mental damage thoroughly reviewed,before approvals for constructionwere granted. Precast concrete man-hole components were used in aspecial way to solve a major prob-lem associated with the dis-charge of storm water.

Mattamy (Rouge) Limitedwas one of the developmentapplications that requiredapprovals to dischargestorm water from its site tothe Rouge River. Stormwater is collected from thehousing development in

InnovativeManhole DropStructure Used ToConstruct StormWater Outfall

a network of storm sewers and discharged into a stormwatermanagement pond. From there, the water drains to a 36-inch diameter concrete pipe outlet and is conveyed by a103-foot deep drop structure comprised of 36-inch diam-eter reinforced concrete manhole risers to the base of theslope. At this point, the flow is directed from a speciallyengineered energy dissipater box, through a jacked 48-inch diameter concrete pipe to the Rouge River. By the timethe storm water reaches the river, its velocity is minimizedto prevent any erosion of the riverbanks.

Niran Construction of Toronto was awarded the con-tract for sewer and watermain services. The contractor im-mediately proposed an alternative to the design of the dropstructure that would comprise a system of precast con-crete manhole components readily available from HansonPipe & Products Canada, Inc of Cambridge. Using a pre-cast concrete system of standard gravity pipe, jacking pipe

and manholes would result in least impact

by Albert Wissa, P.Eng.Niran ConstructionKent CampbellHanson Pipe & Products Canada, Inc519-622-7574

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on the environment and construction cost savings to theclient.

The concept for the drop structure included the fol-lowing major elements:

• 15-foot diameter metal plated working shaft ex-tending vertically 103 feet to accommodate an ac-cess manhole shaft, transition box, manhole ris-ers housing the drop structure, and an energy dis-sipater at the base connecting to a jacked outfallto the river;

• 21-foot access manhole section from ground levelon the tablelands to the top of a transition box;

• 96-inch x 48-inch transition riser with speciallydesigned, benched elliptical pipe connected to theriser and 36-inch diameter inlet pipe from thestormwater pond; complete with precast weir;

• maintenance shaft comprised of eight 96-inch x48-inch risers, incorporating drop structure com-prised of 36-inch diameter reinforced concrete piperisers cast integrally to the 96-inch x 48-inch ris-ers; and,

• 120-inch diameter riser, transition slab and basewith energy dissipater sump box, and connectionto 48-inch diameter jacking pipe.

Niran Construction commenced excavation of the 15-foot diameter working shaft in mid February 2004. The siltyclay till did not present any major obstacle to constructionand there was very little groundwater seepage. The pro-cess for the dig involved an open pit excavation of about40 inches to 60 inches per day. A steel liner plate was con-structed each day as the pit progressed. The first section ofliner was about 13 feet deep with 39 inches raised aboveground level to provide a safety barrier for workers and anyvisitors to the site. At one point in the dig, small amountsof explosives were required to loosen the soil. A Bobcatwas lowered into the shaft and used for excavating the earth.Once the invert elevation of the shaft was reached, the Bobcatwas removed and replaced with tunnel jacking equipment.Throughout the dig, all safety precautions were taken in-cluding the use of fans for ventilation, ladders, safety plat-forms, and lighting.

The shaft was required so that 313 feet of 48-inch di-ameter jacking pipe could be jacked from the 120-inch di-ameter manhole riser at the base of the drop structure. Thejacked pipe connects to the manhole by means of a“doghoused” opening in the first 120-inch riser at the baseof the shaft to provide an outlet to the creek. An internalgranite box was specially designed by Niran to accommo-

date the velocity and weight of freefalling storm water anddissipate its energy. Once the outfall pipe had been jackedinto position and the 120-inch diameter riser installed, thebase of the drop structure was ready for construction of themaintenance shaft that contained the 36-inch diameter con-crete pipe drop structure.

The idea for the internal drop structure came fromHanson’s engineers. There was someconcern that an external concretedrop structure might shift andcrack. In addition, an external dropstructure (concrete) would haverequired a much larger steellined working shaft to accom-modate pipe and equipment.The construction cost wouldhave been much higher.With an internal drop, theconcern about cracks inthe concrete drop struc-ture was alleviated andthe cost of constructionreduced dramatically.

Construction ofthe maintenanceshaft and dropstructure took twoweeks, as all partswere precastconcrete man-hole components.Only two pieces per day were per-mitted to be installed since the space betweenthe precast concrete structure and the metal-lined wall ofthe shaft was filled with non-shrink fill, and proper timewas required for the fill to set. The entire shaft was madeaccessible by a combination of aluminum safety platformsand steps built into the risers at the Hanson plant. The de-sign engineer for the unique structure was Dave Grahlmanof Gamsby and Mannerow Limited. When work reachedthe elevation where the inlet pipe from the pond enteredthe vertical drop shaft, a special transition structure com-prised of a weir and benching was specially designed bythe Hanson engineering team. The challenge was to pro-vide benching that did not cause turbulence of the stormwater as it entered the structure, and reduced the entrantcoefficient for the flow transitioning from the 36-inch hori-

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Assembly of 96-inch x 48-inch transition riser withspecially designed elliptical pipe connection.

zontal pipe to the 36-inch vertical pipe. Hanson engineersused a unit of elliptical pipe with convex benching at thebase as a reducer to direct the flow into the drop shaft. Thereducer was placed between the outlet of the 36-inch con-crete pipe extending from the stormwater management pondand a 96-inch x 48-inch riser constructed with a weir (de-signed for a 100-year storm event) that prevented normalflows from the pond from entering the maintenance accessshaft that paralleled the length of the drop structure. Oncethe transition structure including reducer and weir were inplace, the contractor was able to continue with the con-struction of a standard 48-inch diameter manhole to thesurface.

Jacking the outfall pipe from the structure at the bot-tom of the shaft, and construction of the headwall took 50working days. The process was described by the contrac-tor as a traditional jacking job through silty clay till. Sincethe cylinders of the jacking machine required more spacethan was available in the working shaft, the contractor builta 10-foot “tail tunnel” that extended beyond the circumfer-ence of the working shaft. The tail tunnel accommodatedthe cylinders of the jacking equipment. Once the pipe jack-ing was completed, the metal lined tunnel was completelyfilled and covered by steel wall plates. The 48-inch diam-eter jacking pipe was supplied by Hanson.

Niran Construction Limited of Toronto, under the su-pervision of David Schaeffer Engineering Limited (consult-ing engineer for Mattamy Development Corporation), con-structed the drop structure, inlet, and outfall to the RougeRiver in approximately four months. The precast concretedrop structure is believed to be the deepest in Canada for

Project: Mattamy (Rouge) Subdivision MH 201Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Owner: City of TorontoContractor: Niran Construction, Toronto, Ontario

Albert Wissa, P.EngProducer: Hanson Pipe & Products Canada, Inc.,

Cambridge, Ontario,Kent Campbell

Quantities: Thirty-one, 36-inch diameter reinforcedconcrete manhole risers

Five, 48-inch diameter reinforcedconcrete manhole risers

Eight, 96-inch diameter reinforcedconcrete manhole risers

One, 120-inch diameter riser, transitionslab and base with energy dissipatersump box

96-inch x 48-inch transition riser313 feet of 48-inch diameter jacking

pipe

Hanson Pipe & Products, Inc. is a diversified manu-facturer of concrete drainage pipe, concrete pres-sure pipe, steel pressure pipe, and a variety of sup-porting products including manholes, drainagestructures, precast boxes, bridge components, re-taining walls 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, concretegravity and pressure pipe, precast concrete, and isthe leading manufacturer of facing bricks in Europe.See www.hansonconcreteproducts.com for details.

completing a stormwater management system for a resi-dential development. Precast concrete manhole compo-nents and standard concrete drainage and jacking pipeproved to be an easily installed, economical, long-termsolution. Engineers at Hanson, Gamsby and Mannerow,and David Schaeffers were able to design a stormwatermanagement system that protects the sensitive environ-ment of the Rouge River valley while maximizing the use ofthe tableland for development. The City of Toronto acquiredan asset that adds long-term value to its massive inven-tory of buried infrastructure, while contributing to the im-provement of the quality of storm water entering its urbanwatersheds.

14


The ACPA has issued letters to its members,DOT officials and consulting engineers an-nouncing its first annual Project AchievementAward. The winning project will be honoredduring the AASHTO Bridge and Structures sub-committee meeting in June 2006.

The award was established to recognize stateDepartments of Transportation and leaders thathave demonstrated creative and innovative ac-complishments through projects which havebeen designed using precast concrete pipe orboxes. It was also established to promote pub-lic awareness of the activities and contributionsof stateDOTs, theACPA and

its members.Any state DOT may compete for the award.

State DOTs and ACPA members may submitprojects jointly or separately. ACPA memberssubmitting projects separately must obtain thesignature of the state DOT on their Entry Form.

General Criteria:• All entries must be submitted in accor-

dance with the rules of the competition.• A state DOT or ACPA member may en-

ter multiple qualified projects.• Projects that have received awards from

other organizations may be entered.• All projects which are submitted for an

award during our inaugural year, musthave been completed and in use be-tween January 1, 2001 and February 1,2006.

• Entries must comply with SubmissionGuidelines. Failure to comply may dis-qualify an entry.

• The ACPA Award Committee reserves theright to determine entry eligibility.

Judges will evaluate and compare projectsbased on the following:

• Overall aesthetics and incorporation intosurrounding infrastructure

• Public involvement and education• Use of innovative materials• Use of new technologies• Complexity• Cost effectiveness• Environmental benefits

A plaque will be presented to the awardwinners during a special breakfast held by theACPA in conjunction with the AASHTO Bridgeand Structures Subcommittee meeting in June2006. The winning project will be featured inan upcoming issue of Concrete Pipe News, anda press release issued to publicize the awardsprogram and the award-winning project. Thedue date for submissions is February 1, 2006.Contact Matt Childs at [email protected] or 972-506-7216 for details.

AWARD 2006LAUNCHED

DOT

15


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

Irving, TX 75039-5423

www.concrete-pipe.org

Jeff Hite of Rinker Materials– Hydro Conduit Division

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

US POSTAGE PAIDDALLAS, TX

PERMIT NO 1883

Every year, a Concrete PipeNews author is honored with theRichard C. Longfellow Award.The tribute is presented to theauthor of an article that most ef-fectively demonstrates innova-tive and effective use of concretepipe. The award is presented inmemory of Richard Longfellowwho had an outstanding careerwith Cretex Companies, Inc.based in Elk River, Minnesota. He

significantly influenced the philosophy and goals of theACPA, and played a leading role on technical matters.He was responsible for drafting a new concrete pipedesign manual and initiated Concrete Pipe News. As adirector of the association, he was the force behind theestablishment of the $1million concrete pipe test pro-gram at Northwestern University to establish industry-wide standards for product quality. For more than 20years, Dick Longfellow was the spirit of the ACPA.

WINNING THE LONGFELLOW IS A GREAT TRIBUTEOur most recent winner of the award was Jeff Hite

of Rinker Materials – Hydro Conduit Division in Miami,Florida. The 2004 Longfellow recipient reported on les-sons learned about making the right choice for culvertpipe. Residents of the River’s Edge Street Subdivisionin Jupiter Florida banded together to replace a failinghigh density polyethylene pipe installation with a rein-forced concrete box culvert. Residents had taken acontractor’s advice to install HDPE pipe instead of con-crete because of a lower initial cost of the culvert mate-rial. Residents fully realize that they would have savedconsiderable money in the end had they gone alongwith the original specification for a concrete culvert thatcould withstand the loads of local traffic and servicevehicles, as well as the demands of a maritime climateand aquatic environment.

The ACPA continues the tradition started by Mr.Longfellow by presenting Concrete Pipe News as theindustry’s journal that documents the science, technol-ogy and standards that go into the application of con-crete pipe for a wide variety of uses across the Nation.

va cemeteries cover the u.s.a. from hawaii to maine, and from … · miles of reinforced concrete...

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