Background

A failing 42-inch corrugated metal pipe (CMP) on Lake Laurie Road in Valdosta, Georgia was on the brink of collapse.

The CMP was past its design life and soil around the road shoulder had started to loosen and wash away and erode.

The road was the only way into a school, with buses passing over it daily, so digging and replacing was not an option and safety was of the utmost concern.

Solution

Snap-Tite® representatives Bruce Larson and Matthew Goodwin of Inman and Associates worked with the city of Valdosta to determine the best solution to repair the culvert without disrupting traffic flow on the road of buses leading to the school.

Larson suggested the use of 36-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) Snap-Tite® pipe liner to reline the culvert, thus eliminating any need to dig up the road.

The no-dig HDPE Snap-Tite® culvert-lining pipe, which has a patented male/female machining at each end of the HDPE, is ‘snapped’ together, piece-by-piece, and pushed into the full length of an existing pipe.

Any annular space and voids between the old culvert and new liner are filled in with grout.

The pipe liner is available in lengths from two feet to 50 feet, and is available for culverts with diameters from eight inches to 132 inches.

Snap- Tite® also meets American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standard M326 for rehabilitating culverts.

The Installation The installation was done using a crew from the city of Valdosta. They were able to slip-line the entire 192 feet of existing CMP with Snap-Tite using their own equipment.

All the equipment that was required to snap the pipe liner pieces together were come-alongs and chains.

Once the Snap-Tite® pipe liner lengths were snapped together, the crew pushed the joined liner through the old CMP culvert and then filled in any annular space with grout.

“Snap-Tite was the ideal solution for this project,” said Matthew Goodwin of Inman and Associates.

“The installation was performed during the summer break, but easily could have been done when school was in session. Snap-Tite allowed for us to complete the work all off-road and not disrupt traffic.”

The pipe lining of the old culvert was completed in four hours.

The grouting process took place the next day.

The crew was able to do the work themselves without having to hire contractors, saving the city of Valdosta time and money. The entire installation was a success.