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Fort Hamilton Parkway Project

New pipe construction in New York City always has a few circumstances that set it apart from conventional projects elsewhere in the Country, but the installation a new 78" Combined Sewer in Brooklyn's busy Fort Hamilton Parkway at depths of up to 60 feet may be unique, even here.

The Fort Hamilton Parkway Project included the replacement of an existing 54" sewer with 1,653 feet of 78" ASTM C76 Class IV Reinforced Concrete Pipe installed by microtunneling. The project consisted of two drives, 520 and 1,133 feet, through glacial till, with cobles and boulders. In addition to the main jacks, the contractor, JR Cruz of Aberdeen, NJ, utilized several intermediate jacking stations built into special pipe sections.

The ten foot pipes were manufactured in accordance with AWWA C302 and New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Specifications by the Vertical Wet Cast Method with external vibration. Vianini generally "Wet Casts" jacking and microtunneling pipe to insure that the concrete is dense and properly consolidated. Each pipe is checked for concrete strength as well as dimensional accuracy, finish and end sqaureness.

JR Cruz constructed the jacking and receiving pits using the sunken caisson method. A section of concrete caisson is cast above ground. The shaft is then excavated from within allowing the caisson to sink due to its own weight. Additional sections of caisson upon each other and again excavated from within until the desired depth is achieved. The final receiving shaft was constructed over a 19th Century 126" diameter brick sewer.

To date, Vianini has supplied over 30,000 feet of jacked or microtunneled pipe on projects in New York City.