Summer 2009

Lincoln, NE - It is an age old question, which came first, the pipe or the building? In the case of an addition to the BryanLGH West Medical Center, the pipe came first. Sampson Construction was hired by BryanLGH to fix a faulty sewer tap at their west location near 16th and South Street. It sounds simple enough, Sampson Construction subcontracts the below grade work to General Excavating to expose the faulty tap, repair it, and restore the site. However, time and the activities of humans have a tendency to complicate things. The original City of Lincoln sewer main was located approximately 15-feet deep. A good sized hole would need to be dug to be sure but again, nothing too difficult. The real problem was as the BryanLGH West Campus expanded over the years, an addition was built over the city sewer main. To complicate the matter further, when the addition was constructed, an additional 15-feet of fill was added to the site. The scope of the project now becomes fixing a faulty sewer tap located 30-feet under an addition that houses a sensitive area of the medical center.

General Excavating has built a reputation for successfully tackling difficult jobs that other utility contractors typically avoid. This particular sanitary sewer repair project presented General Excavating an opportunity to showcase their "tough job" abilities. The challenge, how to excavate a hole 30-feet deep and remove the spoil under an existing nurses' station, while maintaining a safe and clean work environment? More than one option was considered but the plan agreed upon by General Excavating, Sampson Construction, and BryanLGH included using a tunnel liner plate system to reach the faulty tap. First, the nurses' station was relocated and the surface concrete removed. Using the tunnel liner system, as a hole is dug, a ring-shaped protective system is installed. As the excavation gets deeper another ring section of the tunnel plate liner system is bolted on to the bottom. In this particular excavation, the plates slid down as the hole was dug making it easier to attach new rings to the top. In this way, workers were protected from cave-ins as they continued the excavation down to the faulty tap.

The next hurdle to overcome was how to reach a sanitary sewer pipe 30-feet deep without using an excavator? The answer, have Tan Aire use a high pressure water wand to loosen the soil and a powerful vacuum truck to remove the spoil. Two hundred-feet of piping was connected to the vacuum truck parked outside the medical center. Scaffolding was installed in the hallway of the hospital to support the eight-inch slurry removal pipe and another four-inch casing pipe which housed the water supply used to power the wand. Using vacuum excavation and the tunnel liner plate system, approximately 4-feet a day was achieved. Once the faulty pipe was reached, Mechanical Western removed and replaced the tap and a concrete base was poured for support. The four-inch casing pipe was used as a conduit to bring sand in used for backfilling the excavation. A riser pipe was added and Sampson Construction restored the surface concrete. The rings of the tunnel liner plate system were left in place.

"All involved were pleased with the project," according to General Excavating's project manager, Brian Egr. "There was a great deal of planning involved on everything from air monitoring of a confined space to getting guys up and down a deep shaft. There was no room for a ladder, so we used an electric chair. Sampson was great to work with and it really was a case where everything, despite the difficulties, went according to plan."

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Landscape Supply Website

Check out our new landscape supply website. A fresh new look for 2009 to make planning your projects from home easy with our online product pictures, updated price lists, project how to's, inspiration gallery and a materials calculator. Want to be the first to know about sales and events? Sign up for our e-newsletters at www.gelandscapesupply.com

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Above & Beyond
INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION

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QUEST
FOR KNOWLEDGE

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YOUR UNDERGROUND PARTNER

Project Briefs...Completed & Ongoing Projects

Project

• South Street Rehabilitation
• Lincoln, NE

Owner

• Black Hills Energy

Sub-Contracted to

• Black Hills Energy

Scope

• Horizontal bored 4" plastic gas line as part of a rehabilitation project along South Street to replace an aging steel gas line.

Project

• UNL Whittier Building Renovation
• Lincoln, NE

Owner

• University of Nebraska

Sub-Contracted to

• H & S Plumbing and Heating, Co.

Scope

• Constructed the site utilities including water, storm, and sanitary sewer.

Project

• Star Tran Bus Barn Remediation
• Lincoln, NE

Owner

• City of Lincoln

Sub-Contracted to

• HWS Consulting Group, Inc.

Scope

• Installed a vacuum remediation system to recover diesel fuel, horizontal bored an extraction line, and restored the site.

Project

• Sanitary Sewer Relocation
• Nebraska City, NE

Owner

• Walgreens

Engineer

• Olsson Associates

Scope

• Rerouted approximately 260-feet of 8-inch sewer, set manholes, and appurtenant work.

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TRADITION OF CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE

General Excavating was recognized for outstanding performance in the construction industry by the Associated Builders and Contractors at their Excellence in Construction Awards Banquet held earlier this year. General Excavating's work on Stevens Creek Capital Improvement Projects #3 & #4 for the City of Lincoln and the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District is the latest example of construction excellence. Since 1996 General Excavating has been honored seven times on a wide range of infrastucture and public works construction projects. Past winners include: 1996 Antelope Commons Dam & Control Structures - Lincoln, NE 1997 Memorial Stadium Sanitary Sewer Upgrade - Lincoln, NE 1999 Excel Corporation Demolition & Remodel - Schuyler, NE 2003 Calamus Fish Hatchery Drainage Modifications - Burwell, NE 2003 Salt Valley Generating Station Supply & Return Pipeline - Lincoln, NE 2004 Henry Doorly Zoo Gorilla Valley Complex - Omaha, NE 2005 Deadman's Run Channel Maintenance - Lincoln, NE

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Photo of the Quarter

An opportunity for General Excavating's employees to show others the work they perform. Winner's receive cash and have their photo displayed at General Excavating. Steve Stowers or "Okie" as he is known to most of us submitted this quarter's winning photograph. A project foreman, Okie has worked at General Excavating for nearly 11 years. Okie and his crews complete environmental construction and fuel tank installation projects for a large number of clients throughout the Midwest. General Excavating, working for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, cleaned-up a coal spill near Aurora, Nebraska. The coal was vacuumed, loaded into trucks, and hauled to a landfill for disposal.

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