Chesterton, Indiana
As the old saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining.” Now Chesterton, a small town in Indiana, understands that is true and that linings–especially trenchless technology repair ones–can be answer to disasters as well as long-standing problems.
Trenchless Technology online reports that four years ago, two crumbling sanitary collection system manholes in Chesterton caused two major–and expensive–roadway collapses. The engineers in charge of fixing the problem decided that spray-on relining was the best long-term solution to what they saw as a corrosion issue.
By the time the project got underway in late 2010, two more manholes were added to Chesterton’s fix-it list. The culprit was identified as hydrogen sulfide damage. The problem was so deep and extensive that engineers soon realized that more than simple corrosion repair would be required to restore functionality.
Chesterton was forced to close a major intersection for one week and use traffic detours. All manholes were then power-washed at 5,000 psi pressure to remove corrosion, crumbling concrete mortar and loose brick.
Engineers then applied hydraulic cement to stop leaks and special mortar around pipe connections and joints to rebuild the bench and invert areas. After everything cured, they sprayed on the lining to create a kind of ‘manhole-within-a-manhole’ seamless structural repair.
The project was 100% successful. But the best news of all is that an emergency situation became an opportunity for Chesterton to create structural integrity in a larger system that was showing signs of decay in more than just two places.
Sometimes, disasters really can clear the way for better things. And with advanced technology, more solutions than ever are available to deal with the challenges posed by infrastructure decay. So is it any wonder that more cities around the world are opting for trenchless innovations?
