HDD, Swagelining, Tunnelling, Utility location

Largest swagelining project in Australia completed

The pipeline rehabilitation project involved lining 4,630 m of existing 24 inch nominal diameter water main that runs beneath one of the busiest roads in Adelaide. The $A4 million contract was the second project of its type carried out for South Australia’s water utility corporation, SA Water, following a similar project in Adelaide in 2007.

Swagelining Limited Managing Director Stephen Barnes said “Swagelining is life-extending technology for new and existing pipelines. It provides the ideal solution where techniques such as open trench and pipe bursting are not suitable.

“Project highlights included achieving polymer liner installation runs of up to 600 m, swagelining through a sweeping bend, and completing the project on time and within budget.”

Swagelining is highly versatile technology, with liner thickness varying from project to project. The Adelaide project used a 594 mm polyethylene (PE) 100 liner with a wall thickness of 56 mm to meet SA Water’s requirement for a liner with full structural capability. In contrast, another water project was recently completed in the United Kingdom where the requirement was for a thin semi-structural liner, which saw a 1,016 mm PE 100 liner with a wall thickness of only 20 mm being installed.

SA Water Asset Manager David Jaensch said “Using the innovative swagelining technology resulted in a significant reduction in the impact on the community and environment, with only small sections of the road having to be closed for a short space of time to be dug up.

“We also benefitted from substantial cost savings with regard to road restorations compared with open trenching methods.”

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