Trenchless Internal Joint Seal System Solves Sewer Piping Issue

A Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) project to reconstruct a portion of State Highway 164 in Racine County had been completed by late 2013. A segment of the new roadway was constructed through a wetland area where new, twin, 30-inch RCP stormwater culverts crossed under the roadway for drainage. For unspecified reasons, the roadway and subgrade had begun to settle above the culverts, causing the RCP culvert to move. This, in turn, caused some of the pipe joints to separate, allowing subgrade material to migrate in from outside the pipe.

Two 30-inch RCP culverts repaired with Cretex/HydraTite Internal Joint Seal.

Looking for a trenchless solution to resolve the issue, WisDOT and the General Contractor contacted Visu-Sewer Inc., a local sewer rehabilitation contractor located in Pewaukee, Wis. The Visu-Sewer representative recommended chemical grouting for the repair, but the first two joints on each end of the culverts were bolted together per WisDOT specs, and the bolts protruded into the pipe. The bolts could not be removed and prevented the grouting equipment from being pulled into the pipe.

Visu-Sewer contacted Cretex Specialty Products, a manufacturer of manhole and pipe sealing products (Waukesha, Wis.), and inquired about the Cretex/HydraTite Internal Joint Seal as a possible solution for the repair. The Cretex/HydraTite seals were submitted to WisDOT and approved. They were chosen because they could be permanently installed at the defective joints without excavation and with easy man-entry on the open-ended culverts.

A total of four (two in each RCP culvert) 30-inch Double Wide Cretex/HydraTite Joint Seals were installed. To ensure no further settlement, the contractor also performed injection grouting to stabilize the soil around the outside of the joints.

For more information about Cretex Specialty Products and the company's HydraTite Joint Seal, visit www.cretexseals.com, or call 800-345-3764.