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Bristol – Water Mains Insertion – 125mm Profuse Pe Pipe

October 30, 2009

Bristol City Centre has recently undergone a major water mains replacement project in the heart of the city centre directly outside of the busy Bristol Hippodrome.

The old 7”cast iron water main had been laid over 90 years ago. During the past 10 years the water main had experienced pipe bursting issues on 6 occasions and therefore was made part of Bristol Water’s 2009 replacement programme to be reinstated with a new 125mm PE pipe.

Paul Kelson, a spokesman for Bristol Water explained why this particular water main had to be replaced “We’ve had a number of problems with this pipe recently, including a burst in January when we had that very cold weather. The pipe is susceptible to bursting so it needs to be replaced before it causes a major problem ”

The contractor used a Steve Vick International 180mm pipe coil trailer to transport and safely store the PE pipe onsite throughout the project.

The 180 model is the largest of Steve Vick International’s three pipe coil trailers. It handles coils of PE with diameter from 40mm to 180mm and accommodates coil lengths up to 100 metres of 180mm and in this instance, up to 150m of 125mm PE pipe.

A major advantage of the 180 trailer is that when loaded with the largest coil, it can be towed by a typical long wheelbase vehicle.

On behalf of Bristol Water, Daniel Contractors Ltd sub contracted the work out to Rossco Civil Engineering who carried out the replacement project, which involved inserting 377 metres of 125mm profuse pipe into the existing 7” water main.  During the insertion, businesses and residents were supplied with water via riders ensuring that minimum disruption was caused throughout the project.

As with any pipe replacement work being carried out in built up areas there was an issue of when would be the best time to complete the project and during the summer holidays seemed to be the best option. A special effort was made by the contractors to complete the replacement project before the August Bank Holiday to avoid further disruption during the busy weekend.