The intersection of Routes 9 and 440 with the Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey’s busiest and most vital cloverleaf complexes, developed sinkholes following Hurricane Irene in 2011. More than 500 ft of 60-year-old pipe were failing, with joints that were falling apart and some inverts that were completely rotted out. Collapsing sewer under the cloverleaf needed to be repaired or replaced quickly and without road closures, and the pipe diameters were quite large—300 ft of 72-in. bituminous-lined corrugated metal pipe (CMP), and about 240 ft of 60-in. bituminous-lined CMP.
Repairs had to be completed immediately despite the heavy storms that followed the hurricane, with work completed in wet conditions. Alkesh Desai, the storm water emergency manager for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, selected CentriPipe to quickly and cost-effectively repair the damaged pipe without traffic disruption.
Using the CentriPipe system, sewer joints and inverts were repaired, collapsing pipe sections were stabilized, and several passes through each sewer were made, applying thin layers of PL-8,000 with each pass until a total thickness of 2 in. was reached.
“The project was completed on time and the initial results look good,” Desai said. “At this point, we’re happy with the results. If it proves to be durable, it will also be cost-effective, so we will certainly be using this technology again, and especially in emergency situations like this one.”
