New Jersey American Water, in conjunction with STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES, hosted over 100 engineers, utility workers, and construction workers from New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania yesterday, Thursday, January 30, for a construction site visit and update regarding its South Plainfield 60-inch water transmission main rehabilitation project. The project involves the structural rehabilitation of approximately 3,410 linear feet of 60-inch Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP), as well as the reconstruction of existing manholes and valve pits, installation of a new 48-inch butterfly valve assembly and two new 48-inch by 24-inch tees used as access points necessary to rehabilitate the 60-inch water transmission main.
The South Plainfield 60-inch water transmission main rehabilitation project represents a $12 million investment by New Jersey American Water that will improve water service reliability and increase water flows for both household use and firefighting. The 60-inch water transmission main is largely aligned along Wooden Avenue generally between Beatrice Place and Metuchen Road in South Plainfield. The 60-inch water transmission main, which also traverses across Memorial Park and below the Bound Brook, is a critical New Jersey American Water asset that provides service to more than 984,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
The rehabilitation project began this past fall and is scheduled to be completed on time this spring. It consists of structurally rehabilitating over 3,410 linear feet of 60-inch PCCP by lining the pipe with V-Wrap Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP).
Among the benefits of CFRP is that it is a fully structural system that does not significantly reduce the internal pipe diameter. CFRP is lightweight, highly flexible and can be installed at bends and connections with no complications. Additionally, the installation process requires no excavation, minimizing disruption to the surrounding area. Currently, the South Plainfield project is the longest run of large-diameter pipe project in the country utilizing CFRP lining to rehabilitate an existing water transmission main.
On October 15, 2019, New Jersey American Water was awarded a Distinguished Engineering Award by the New Jersey Alliance for Action for its work on the South Plainfield 60-inch water transmission main rehabilitation project. The Distinguished Engineering Award recognizes innovative, unique and outstanding engineering projects for their impact on the state’s economy and environment in the fields of transportation, energy, waste and storm water, technology, construction and the environment.
