Page 6 - May-June2025 Vol 43 No 1

STATEWIDE By Michael Brewster
Underground Innovation

Trenchless Pipe Rehabilitation Solutions Across Tennessee

Necessity truly is the mother of consuming, and expensive. Trenchless for cities, counties, and other municipalities
invention, especially in underground pipe rehabilitation refers to a range of when replacing aging infrastructure that is
utility construction. techniques utilized to restore or replace not structurally deficient.
Trenchless methods have become damaged water, sewer, storm drain of While additional investment is
essential for completing complex other pipelines without digging up, typically required up front, the long-term
infrastructure projects efficiently and removing, and replacing the existing pipe. benefits can be substantial. Instead of
with minimal disruption, according to Trenchless technology such as PVC fold replacing storm drains, sanitary sewer
Walker Building Group, Nashville-based and form, cementitious spray applied liner lines, and other utilities, trenchless
underground utility construction leader. (SAPL), slip lining and cured-in-place pipe rehabilitation instead can deliver
With more than two decades of pipelining (CIPP) offers a more efficient significant benefits, including:
experience completing critical public solution. It is a less disruptive alternative • Decreased traffic interference
and private infrastructure projects, the
company has found that in many cases,
there is no need to excavate and replace
every pipe on every project.
New Solutions Borne Out of Experience
Their stellar reputation as a traditional
“dig and replace” contractor served as a
powerful catalyst in seeking new solutions
to complex underground utility projects
across the state. They knew there had to
be a better answer each time they were
challenged with:
• Addressing subsidence in the roadway
caused by deteriorated pipes buried in
the East Tennessee hills
• Completing preventative maintenance
on pipes located adjacent to sewer and
gas lines beneath neighborhoods mid-
state
• Restoring infrastructure below I-40 in
West Tennessee.
In these diverse cases, a different Walker Building Group feels that PVC fold and form
construction method was needed; one and SAPL pipe rehabilitation approaches provide
that did not require the excavation and better quality, higher performing, and more flexible
replacement of infrastructure situated in solutions with minimal environmental impacts. Both
hard-to-reach or otherwise difficult to pipe rehabilitation methods are TDOT-approved.
extract locations. OLD HICKORY: Pipe during and after (upper right)
Over the past several years, Walker rehabilitation using PVC fold and form technology.
Building Group found its answer in
trenchless pipe rehabilitation technology
to deliver stormwater solutions for
these and similarly challenging projects
across the state. When compared to the
traditional dig and replace method, this
technology has minimal site impacts and
significantly expedited project timelines.
What is Trenchless Pipe Rehabilitation?
Traditional methods of pipeline
repair or replacement require extensive
excavation, which can be disruptive, time-

6 TPW May/June 2025