67 Street / Project

ADS SaniTite brings many advantages to high profile Roundabout Project for the City of Red Deer

ADS Hancor is a North American leader in HDPE and polyethylene sanitary and storm pipe. ADS SaniTite is quickly becoming accepted as the solution for large diameter storm projects. Manufactured in Seattle, Washington, ADS is distributed all over North America by partners like EMCO Waterworks.

EMCO Waterworks has been fundamental in the engineering process working with many project managers looking for an opportunity to provide innovative storm management solutions on projects that are short on time and budget. EMCO Waterworks is the leading national water infrastructure distributor in Canada and is an expert in storm management systems. EMCO provides 24/7 access to materials, has in house pipe/valve/fittings experts, and can accommodate every type of water project big or small. EMCO is able to deliver products and solutions that are consistent with the high demands of today’s municipal infrastructure needs.

Project

During the spring of 2015, the City of Red Deer awarded a tender for the 67 Street / Project, which includes construction of a two lane roundabout, the first of its kind in the city. An extremely critical project, the roundabout provides a critical link to the new North Highway Connector, and is located right in the heart of two of Red Deer’s busiest roads, accommodating all kinds of traffic including heavy equipment and machinery. It was important to the city that this project met and exceeded all stringent requirements in an effort to make a long lasting impact on the rapidly expanding northeast side of the city. ADS SaniTite pipe has a design service life (DSL) of up to 100 years and is extremely resistant to different kinds of soil conditions, has two water tight gaskets to prevent infiltration/exfiltration, and will not require relining or replacement for years to come.

The project was awarded to one of Central Alberta’s largest contractors, Pidherney’s Inc., a company that has been working on municipal infrastructure projects since their incorporation in 1971. Pidherney’s Inc. is a fundamental part of Central Alberta’s growth and has been involved in a substantial amount of municipal projects over the last four decades. During their peak operating season they have over 600 administrative and construction staff and operate 500 pieces of equipment and 100 gravel and lowbed trucks.

Solution

ADS SaniTite provided the contractor the ability to meet aggressive deadlines, and take advantage of its ease of use. A small team of three was able to lay a substantial amount of large diameter pipe each day, cutting installation costs down by less than half.

ADS SaniTite pipe offers many advantages including significant savings on installation costs, machine operation costs, and material savings. Each length of pipe is 6.096m long, over twice as long as conventional pipe and can be shipped to site with half the amount of trucks required for concrete or less. The pipe is nested together with smaller diameters being shipped inside of the larger diameter profiles allowing more material to be shipped on each load. This makes it easier to coordinate site traffic on a large scale project where machinery, trucks, and open trenches make it difficult to maneuver.

In terms of expediency, contractors are able to install over twice as much SaniTite pipe each day versus conventional concrete pipe. These time savings are critical and help increase project completion timing while significantly reducing labor and machine operating costs. Additionally, the polypropylene material does not compromise on quality and meets or exceeds all engineering requirements on this project. ADS Hancor also provides a thorough project review of each project to provide complete assurance to the engineers and contractors that the pipe will meet the requirements of the project.

Results

The northeast side of Red Deer is bustling with traffic day and night. It is a major roadway with schools and shopping nearby, people commuting to work, and also has substantial pedestrian and cycling traffic. The initial goal was to complete the southwest portion of the roundabout as quickly as possible in an effort to pave and re-open this important roadway alleviating traffic congestion and road closures. Pidherney’s Inc. took to the task and started excavating the roadway at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon and had the pipe installed, backfilled and paved by 6pm the next day!  The roundabout is slated for project completion during the summer of 2016, with the rest of the North Highway Connector project completion expected in 2025.

Preliminary exposure to the product has had positive responses. Pidherney’s Inc. Project Foreman stated, “The guys had a good experience working with the polypropylene pipe over concrete because it’s easier to handle and a lot quicker to install.”

Twenty foot lengths of pipe, 900mm in diameter, were loaded into the trench by a hoe using a nylon sling. The same sling was used to connect the pipe while one employee supported the alignment.

One of the challenges of this project was that the contractor was required to maintain a 0.1% slope – that is only 6mm for each length of pipe. Generally thermoplastic pipe will bend and warp in hot summer conditions but the 6.096m lengths of pipe have proven to be resistant to the Sun’s UV rays in the 30 degree weather experienced, allowing them to easily meet this difficult grade.

Conclusion

Red Deer is a thriving city with a growing population and an increasing demand on infrastructure needs. The recent approval of ADS SaniTite in Red Deer has translated into valuable time savings and tax dollars, which will allow further investment into future capital projects.

According to Dale Nash, EMCO Waterworks Account Manager, “EMCO understood the value in ADS SaniTite and introduced a solution to the city that provided innovation and efficiency. At first, it wasn’t without skepticism. ADS provided a full project review to ensure the pipe met the requirements of each section of the project; i.e. depth of bury, deflection, etc. This provided the city and engineers the peace of mind they were looking for on such a high profile project. The effect has been tremendous, and many developments both municipal and private are considering ADS SaniTite on their next projects throughout Alberta. ADS SaniTite is now being considered for major projects across the province and is being supported by engineering firms across the province as well. This day and age it’s truly rare to find an example in the construction industry that offers new product innovation and economic savings at the same time. Contractors will be extremely pleased working with this material as well because of its simplicity.”

EMCO Waterworks has 24 locations across western Canada. For further information contact the location nearest you, or visit: www.emcowaterworks.com