Underground Infrastructure - August 2023 - 35

LEFT: The Cratus crew proved proficient with both the pneumatic and
static pipe-bursting systems, successfully replacing over 10,000 feet of
sewer main for the city of Palo Alto.
ABOVE: The 700-foot section of the main was in an area near businesses
and homes. The static system provided a quieter option than the large
pneumatic hammer for that area.
" Pneumatic pipe bursting really put the method on the map
beginning over 40 years ago, " said Mallakis. " Contractors have
been able to burst and replace literally thousands of miles of
pipe with pneumatic pipe bursting. And it was a good option
for this particular project. "
service laterals and cleanouts. The VCP was specified to be replaced
with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which made it
a prime candidate for pipe bursting.
According to Liam Finnegan, president of Cratus, the company
has a significant amount of pipe-bursting experience and
was well-prepared for this type of project. " We focus on all utility
work, underground sewer, water, " he said. " We don't really do
much else. We don't do any concrete work. Sewer and water are
what we primarily do. We've done quite a bit of pipe bursting. "
With the amount of pipe bursting slated for the project,
high-production pneumatic bursting equipment was chosen
for a majority of the project. Pipe-bursting specialist
George Mallakis, from trenchless equipment manufacturer TT
Technologies, Aurora, Ill., explained that pneumatic pipe bursting
has been a workhorse in the industry since the 1980s.
For the Palo Alto sanitary sewer replacement project, a
reversible PCG180 pneumatic hammer, along with an RW10
10-ton constant-tension, variable speed Grundowinch and reversible
boom, from TT Technologies was used.
Quality focused
Cratus is a high-quality utility contractor where safety is a top
priority. The company emphasizes safety training, toolbox talks,
observation programs and job hazard analyses to prevent incidents
from even occurring. And it makes sure the right people
are positioned to ensure safe operations.
" We operate with a superintendent and foremen and then
inside that lead men in the crews, especially the pipe bursting, "
said Finnegan. " There are lead men on the mainline pipe bursting
then on the backend, we have lead men on paving and restoration
backfill crews. We do toolbox meetings once a week. Our
foremen go through a certain topic. We do the training as often
UndergroundInfrastructure.com | AUGUST 2023 35
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Underground Infrastructure - August 2023

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