Old Dover Road System Reinforcement

Project Overview

The Old Dover Road project is a multi-year system reinforcement project to support customer demands well into the future. Due to the complexity of the project, which includes installation of plastic distribution main line, high-pressure steel main line, and a regulator station, our customer selected Neuco based on our long-term strategic partnership and excellent performance record.

Challenges Overcome

Rising to the challenge of this project required long hours, persistence, and unwavering commitments to safety and quality. The 12” steel pipe was installed with 4’ to 5’ of cover, with sometimes more offsetting around existing infrastructure. Shoring boxes and a large pump for ground water were used daily to install this pipe.

The section beneath the Cocheco River required concrete-coated pipe with a special epoxy coating. Application of this epoxy is a temperature-sensitive process and includes sand blasting. As this project took place during winter, crews used multiple heaters and worked rain or shine to keep the project on schedule.

The regulator station component became especially challenging when contaminated soil was discovered. Prioritizing safety, the crew stopped work for Hazwopper training and to obtain the proper equipment. Soil had to be removed in poly-lined bins, and the drip slurry was pumped into heated frac tanks.

The project originally planned to use an outside contractor to perform hydro testing and pigging, but due to the winter temperature, the customer decided to have Neuco test with nitrogen and self-perform the pigging. Neuco fabricated a pig launcher and receiver, and then imported a large compressor to pig the 12” steel pipe. Two tanker loads of nitrogen were used to test the pipe at 850 lbs of pressure over two days.