Pipe ramming on the Gold Coast
The South East Queensland Underroad Drilling team and local contractor Josh Taylor recently undertook and successfully completed a difficult project at Hope Island, on the northern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The decision to purchase a Tracto-Technik Grundoram Koloss pipe ramming machine for this project was made keeping in mind the versatility of the machine and the possibilities of larger projects to be done in the future.
The task was to ram a 509 mm outside diameter steel casing under the roadway at the roundabout at the entrance to the Hope Island Resort. The casing was installed in six metre lengths due to fibre optic, electric, water and gas services which restricted the starting pit length.
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The ramming took place in wet sand, which provided very little friction on the outside of the casing and dewatering was necessary during the installation process. It was decided to ram the pipe into place when thrust boring failed due to the wet conditions.
The purchase of the Koloss will give Mr Taylor the ability to undertake larger ramming projects as well as to expand into horizontal directional drilling; assist comprising conductor barrel installation; retrieval of stuck drill rods; vertical piling and the ability to undertake pipe cracking projects.
Pipe ramming is becoming the preferred option especially when making penetrations beneath roads and rail lines, where no subsidence or heave is permissible.
Bursting in Sydney
Killard Excavations Pty Ltd, well known in Sydney as a multi-functional excavation and drain laying company, recently took delivery of their new hydraulic pipe bursting equipment. TT Asia Pacific’s Grundoburst 400G was chosen by Killard to supplement their existing fleet.
Having recently won a substantial water main replacement contract in the suburbs of Sydney, the Grundoburst was chosen as the ideal machine to replace five kilometres of pipe in the quickest, safest and most environmentally friendly way possible.
Managing Director of Killard Excavations Jerry Daly did his research thoroughly and had no hesitation in purchasing the Tracto-Technik manufactured machine.
Jerry said he could not look past the strong reputation of the ‘Grundo’ brand of equipment. In particular he was drawn to the patented Quicklock rods used by the Grundoburst that led to a quicker and more user-friendly method of operation.
Supervisor of the bursting team Willy Roche said, “Grundoburst is fantastic, it’s easier to use and is extremely reliable, making it possible to get up to 300 metres of pipe in the ground per day.”
TT Asia Pacific is delighted to be working with Killard Excavations in their trenchless endeavours and to grow in the industry.
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