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Florida East Coast Railway Culvert Reline

Jacksonville, Florida

Reline

Owner:

Florida East Coast Railroad

Engineer:

MG Underground LLC

Contractor:

MG Underground LLC

Installation:

September 2018

Technical Description:

  • Product: DuroMaxx® SRPE Liner Pipe, WC Joint (30 psi)
  • Diameter: 42-inch
  • Length: 220 LF

Founded in 1885 by Henry Flagler, the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) is a Class II regional railroad that owns a 351-mile mainline track in Florida from Jacksonville down to Miami. The FEC Railway is the exclusive rail provider for Port Miami, Port Everglades and Port of Palm Beach.

The FEC connects to the national railway system in Jacksonville, allowing it to provide rail service in and out of Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina, into and out of Florida’s east coast. Based in Jacksonville, FEC provides end-to-end intermodal and carload solutions to customers who demand cost-effective and premium quality transportation solutions. Every day, the railroad is moving commodities such as aggregate, automobiles, bulk liquids, building materials, orange juice, electronics and other items.

Given the high demand placed upon the FEC track, it was very important that the line remains fully functioning 24-hours a day, seven days a week. In order to maintain the track, FEC engineers will routinely inspect crossings and culverts to ensure the line remains structurally intact. A 48-inch diameter, reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) drainage culvert was found to be structurally deficient with cracking and spalling occurring throughout the run combined with joint failures that were very concerning. FEC called on MG Underground LLC, a leader in installation and rehabilitation of buried infrastructure, to assess the condition and identify the best solutions for consideration.

Completing an infrastructure assessment and enacting a preventive maintenance plan to ensure that production is not hindered with aging or failing infrastructure is imperative. Deteriorated culverts not only pose potential production losses but can also be a health and environmental hazard if not identified and repaired or replaced in time.

To avoid any down time to the line above, which was an imperative aspect to the project, both the FEC and MG Underground determined that a relining solution was the best route to go. After some review of available solutions, MG Underground recommended sliplining with DuroMaxx® SRPE liner pipe with welded coupler (WC) joints, a steel reinforced polyethylene pipe manufactured by Contech Engineered Solutions LLC. Offering the strength of steel and the durability of pressure rated polyethylene resin (PE), DuroMaxx is a smooth inner wall pipe with a Manning’s “n” value of 0.012 that provides superior durability with enhanced hydraulic capacity. Manufactured at their nearby plant in Montgomery, Alabama, the DuroMaxx liner pipe was shipped directly to the construction site.

For the installation process, MG Underground diverted the waterflow from the inside of the host pipe to expedite the sliplining process as well as the grout curing process. Using a hammer head and wedge system to pull the liner pipe in to the inlet of the culvert, MG lined the deteriorating host pipe with 42-inch diameter, DuroMaxx SRPE and then incorporated a backhoe on the outlet end of the pipe to pull the pipe into place throughout the 220 LF length of the original drainage culvert. Utilizing the push-pull method, they were able to lay and joint five sections per day. Once the liner pipe was in place, a lightweight, cellular grout was pumped through in a single-stage lift approach. This is done most efficiently by constructing a bulkhead at each end of the reline and allowing the new pipe to float to the crown of the existing pipe while grout is pumped into the annular space. The grout was pumped in a controlled manner to ensure balanced filling on all sides and cured. This allowed MG to employed only a small crew for the installation process, providing added savings and improving the efficiency of the installation and time needed to complete the project. The entire installation was completed in just one week.

The owner of MG Underground LLC, Donald Goff, P.E., commented, “DuroMaxx makes it easy to install, especially with its easy-to-use pressure rated 30 psi joints.”

The end result to what could have been a time-consuming and costly replacement was a reline solution utilizing a steel, reinforced polyethylene liner pipe that provided both the strength and durability necessary to offer a permanent, structural solution that would extend the service life of the existing host pipe for over 100-years.

Technical Description:

  • Product: DuroMaxx® SRPE Liner Pipe, WC Joint (30 psi)
  • Diameter: 42-inch
  • Length: 220 LF
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