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Thompson Lane 36-inch Water Line Replacement (TBM Geotechnical Support)

Intricate community water main tunneling project

  • $8.5M

    Construction Value

  • 3

    Microtunneling Shafts

  • 2

    Auger Boring Shafts

  • Nashville, Tennessee

    Nashville, Tennessee

Tunneling under roads, rails, and through complex geology brings water where it’s needed in Nashville

Sometimes an exacting task requiring extreme precision is called, “threading the needle.” Now imagine you can’t see the thread, or the needle, because they are underground. Needing to meet customer demand for water in the Nashville region, and with the best path passing under Interstate Highway 65, a railway line, and several on-off ramps, Metro Water Services called upon our expertise to, “thread the needle” for 4,000-linear feet of 36-inch water main.

To cross this critical infrastructure without disrupting traffic or trains, over 1,300-linear feet of 60-inch steel casing housing the new water main was installed using microtunneling. An additional 50-linear feet of 60-inch steel casing was installed using auger boring. The work required three microtunneling shafts and two auger boring shafts, constructed within limited workspace to launch and receive the tunneling equipment. As if that weren’t already complicated enough, our geotechnical survey indicated we would encounter challenging conditions at the tunnelling face.

Our team was involved in all stages of the microtunneling and auger boring design and construction. Among our responsibilities on the project were an initial tunneling impact assessment, detailed design, bidding phase assistance, construction submittal review, and construction oversite. With completion of the project, the new infrastructure is supporting economic growth in the area, and all without road and rail users knowing what was happing under their wheels. 

At a Glance

Offices
Client
  • Metropolitan Government of
  • Nashville and Davidson County

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