Contact: Robbie Bald, PE
Phone: 336-373-2854

 City to Rehabilitate 80-year-old Water Main on Wendover Avenue

GREENSBORO, NC -- (Friday, May 8, 2009) – Beginning Friday evening, May 15, at 7 pm, the City of Greensboro’s Water Resources Department will use Static Pipe Bursting to rehabilitate approximately 2,800 feet of deteriorated 12-inch water main in Wendover Avenue from Hill Street to North Elm Street. Water Resources has previously used this process in Greensboro for pipes ranging from 4-12 inches in diameter in the sanitary sewer system, but this will be the first application of this technique in the potable water system.

The work will be done in three sections over a period of five weeks. Work will start each week on Friday evening and is scheduled to be completed by the following Monday morning at 7 am. During the installation two eastbound lanes of Wendover Avenue will be closed. There will be a detour in place and motorists are encouraged to take alternate routes to avoid the work area.

Pipe bursting utilizes a large (125 metric tons or 276,000 pounds-force) pulling device to pull a new waterline in place through the existing host pipe. The existing waterline is used as a conduit to thread pulling rods from the starting to the ending point. The new sections of waterline are attached to the pulling machine by the rods and pulled into place. The force breaks the existing line out of the way making room for the new line. This technique allows rehabilitation of waterlines and requires substantially less digging and minimal interruption of service to customers. In this case, the liner used for rehabilitation will be DIP (ductile iron pipe) and should have a service life of over 100 years.

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