Vittoria Road Glen Iris – HP 050 Realignment

• Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) was used for installation of pipe under South Western Hwy. Rocky ground conditions were a possibility. DM Civil applied a specialised UV-cured fibreglass abrasion-resistant-overwrap (ARO) to the pipe to be installed by HDD.
• Significant dewatering was required at sections on the pipeline, due to the high-water table and recent winter rains. Groundwater collected could not be discharged to the environment due to the nearby Preston River, prompting a different solution. Instead, DM Civil carried out a ground investigation to find a suitable re-injection site. Once found, a discharge line, sump and injection system were built to reinject the groundwater.
• The groundwater present on site was not the only challenging ground condition encountered. A number of old tree stumps were present along the alignment, with thick roots entangling below-ground services that could not be easily removed. Stump grinding and careful digging was carried out by the DM Civil team to safely remove the roots without damaging the services, allowing the excavation to continue. Careful pipelaying beneath the services was also required, but was no issue for the DM Civil team.
• DM Civil was requested to assist ATCO Gas in the hot tap connection process, providing lifting, live-welding and field-joint coating support to enable the connection.

Despite the tight schedule and ground conditions encountered, DM Civil’s team accomplished the project with ease and on time. The continuing relationship with our client ATCO Gas has led to DM Civil completing many more gas pipeline projects to a high standard.