THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505030175
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
CROSSING A RIVER once was a major hurdle for sanitation crews trying to extend sewer lines from one shore to another. Now, instead of going across, they go under.
Borrowing technology used in digging oil wells, construction workers drill a small hole beneath the river bed, then enlarge the hole until it's big enough to finally thread a pipe through to the other side.
The process - called directional drilling - has two advantages: It's cheaper, and it's environmentally friendly.
``We don't disturb anything - wetlands or bottom sediment,'' said James Borberg, general manager of Hampton Roads Sanitation District, a regional sewer authority. ``And it's cheaper.''
HRSD is extending nearly 17 miles of sewer interceptor lines from northern Suffolk to Smithfield to remove wastewater from Smithfield and the meat-packing plants on the town's northern edge. The project involves five waterways, and crossing them will cost $6 million.
The sewer extension is a major boon for development along the path, allowing localities to connect to the line and have their wastewater treated at the district's Nansemond treatment plant in northern Suffolk.
``This will serve everything along that line,'' Borberg said.
And it will eliminate potential environmental problems at the Smithfield packing plants, where wastewater discharge has become too burdensome for the town to handle at its treatment facility.
The shiny, blue steel pipe that snakes for about a mile along the southbound lanes of U.S. Route 17 - or Bridge Road - near Crittenden in northern Suffolk will be used to cross the Nansemond River.
Piece by piece, the epoxy-coated pipe will disappear as workers use their drilling rig to pull the 10-foot sections through a hole 30 inches in diameter. The work, which should take at least a day, is expected to be completed by the end of this week.
The two lanes of the divided highway have been closed since late March to allow the construction.
Land & Marine, the Houston engineering and construction company doing the work, has completed three water crossings - Bennetts Creek in Suffolk and the Pagan River and Cypress Creek in Isle of Wight County. After they finish the Nansemond, they will cross the Chuckatuck Creek.
The process is similar to drilling for oil.
``It's the same thing as oil well rigging except we're not doing it vertically,'' Borberg said.
First, the workers drill a four-inch pilot hole from one side of the river to the other. Then they put a reamer in the hole, squeezing the dirt out the other side and enlarging the hole. That is done several times, each time using a larger piece of equipment until the hole is the right size.
Before any work can be done, the area must be surveyed by archaeologists to determine there are no historically significant sites along the path. An initial analysis also ensures that there are no obstructions.
``The bed rock in this area is way down,'' Borberg said. ``We never have to worry about that.''
Directional drilling was developed in the 1970s, and it has become a useful tool in areas such as Hampton Roads where there are many waterways.
``We were the first ones to do it in this area several years ago,'' Borberg said. ``Now it's become our standard way of crossing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Sewer lines running along on top of the ground leading to the Godwin
Bridge on Route 17 will soon be buried.
Graphic
At a Glance
Project cost: $6 million
Purpose: Extend sewer lines to Smithfield and Smithfield Foods
Inc. meat packing plants.
Route: From northern Suffolk, along U.S. Route 17, to the
northern end of Smithfield via U.S. Route 258 and Virginia Route 10.
Waterways to cross: Nansemond and Pagan rivers and Chuckatuck,
Cypress and Bennetts creeks.
Total length: 16.9 miles.
Material: Epoxy-coated steel pipe, 30 inches in diameter.
Who's doing the work: Land & Marine, an international offshore
engineering and construction company from Houston.
by CNB