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On 3/21/00 at 4:15pm, Larry Riccio,
the Director of the East Brunswick Sewerage Authority called
about an emergency situation and asked if Middlesex Trenching
could act immediately to take all action necessary to resolve
the problem. By 5:00pm, MTC mobilized a 3-cubic yard excavator,
two rubber tire backhoes, one 4-cubic yard wheel loader, two
18 cubic yard dump trucks, two 6" high veloci ty pumps,
one 8" high velocity pump, one 6x10x14 foot trench box and
6 OSHA certified employees. Later that evening, MTC supplied
6 loads of QP stone from inventory.
Upon
arriving at the site, it was apparent that there was a major
problem and it would be necessary to work around the clock so
additional supervision and personnel were called in. Waste was
spouting out of an existing manhole 2 to 3 feet into the air
directly in the middle of a major roadway. The first task was
to control the spillage and install a bypass pump to relieve
the overflowing condition. Once flow was under control, the area
was fenced off, the roadway closed, proper barricades and detour
signage were put in place and police stationed at each end.
After
removing the asphalt, workers discovered the break had undermined
or (washed away the earth) in the roadway 14 feet wide, 20 feet
long and 7 feet deep. Excavation began with extreme caution as
there was a major telephone duct bank in the immediate vicinity.
A trench box was installed and excavation continued to a depth
of 23 feet to the 32" sanitary sewer concrete pipe. It was
discovered that the entire top half of the pipe had completely
collapsed for a distance of 12 feet and was blocking the flow.
The entire broken pipe was removed and a vacuum truck was used
to remove tons of dirt from the downstream portion of the pipe.
Once
all damaged sections of pipe had been removed the repair work
commenced. The first joint was made pipe to pipe via factory
joint. The second connection was a bit more tricky. It required
a precise cut of the new concrete pipe which was than filled
with a special rubber, Fernco and completely encased in 4 cubic
yards of concrete.
The
excavated earth was too wet to be used, so a field decision was
made to backfill the area in 12" lifts with imported select
fill in order to achieve a 98% compaction factor. Upon completion
of the backfilling to sub-asphalt, a temporary asphalt patch
was installed in order to open the road to traffic as quickly
as possible and minimize any further disturbance to the general
public.
The
decision was then made to schedule final repairs to the roadway
for a later date to allow the surrounding earth to dry sufficiently
and allow for any unforeseen settling of the earth.
Middlesex
Trenching performed the emergency repair professionally and without
delay. Mr. Riccio personally called to thank Middlesex Trenching
for it's professionalism and expediency in making a major emergency
repair seem routine and praised it for exceptional service.
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