Installed 100+ ft of steel casing under active rail lines via jack & bore, overcoming rock, groundwater, and utility conflicts to deliver on time.
Melcar Ltd. was contracted to install over 100 liner feet of 0.375” thick, 12” steel casing at 14 feet deep by means
of jack and bore to go directly under active rail lines.
While excavating for both the entry and exit pits, the crew came across multiple existing and unmarked storm
sewers that would have prevented the installation of shoring boxes as well as obstructed the placement of the drill
rigs. Through multiple meetings with the customer, third party engineers and rail owners, the team was able to
swap the position of the pits and shorten the length needed for the entry pit by cutting the rails down for the drill
head.
Even though extensive soil sampling was completed prior to crews arriving to site, once drilling was able to start,
massive rock formations were encountered and the team quickly had to react. With strict time constraints due to
being within the rail company’s right of way, the team quickly pulled the drilling head back out and switched the
drilling head to a rock bit and was able to make quick work of the rock and get all the way through to the exit pit.
Given the rock formations and an extended unfortunate weather forecast, the crew was also faced with an
excessive amount of ground water flowing through the rock and into both open pits. The crew was able to quickly
react with additional pumps, hoses and vac trucks to make quick work of the water that had quickly risen to over
three feet.
Through years of experience and an expansive collection of large tooling, the crew was able to put the correct
pieces in place to ensure that the job could be completed as safely and quickly as possible, even with additional
obstacles that were not foreseen during the planning phase. The customer and third party contractors working in
the area were able to complete their respective scopes of work on time without issue or call backs to Melcar
crews.
