Crews are expected to finish installing the new drinking water pipe underwater at Tavernier Creek Crossing by May 15, 2025. Once this segment of pipe is installed, all the barrels and lane shifts for this work will be removed, and traffic will flow regularly until the open cut trench pipe reaches this area.
The crew working at the south end of the project to install the pipe along US 1 via open cut trench will move north in 1,000-foot increments now through November 2026. A 3,000-foot rolling lane closure will be in effect as they do this work. Traffic delays are expected from time-to-time.
How long will the project take to complete in total?
The 22,000 feet of new drinking water pipe is expected to be installed by November 2026.
How does the crew know where to put the pipe in the ground?
It’s not easy work. FKAA worked closely with the Design Engineers, Construction Management Team, and Michels Pipeline over the past year to plan, develop, and execute where the new pipe should go. However, there are other utilities like cable and internet running underground. Unexpected terrains and interference from other utilities are sometimes only discovered once the crew starts trenching.
How does the pipe go in the ground?
The crew is using a method called open cut trenching. This means they pre-cut a trench under the ground along roadway. Then they install the steel pipes by welding methods, which takes several hours to cool before it can be coated from the inside. The trench, with the pipe installed is then backfilled (refilled with soil) and the crew starts trenching for the next segment.
At Tavernier Creek and Snake Creek Crossings, the crew uses a technique called horizontal directional drilling (HDD). They install pipe underground by boring a tunnel underground from one point to another, each drill pass they bore the tunnel wider and wider until it can receive the pipeline and then pull the pipe through.
How does the drill rig work?
The drill rig works with many steel rods and a drill head to drill a long tunnel from point A to B. First, it drills a small pilot hole beneath the surface. Once the pilot hole is complete, the rig pulls a larger drill head through to widen the hole—this is called "reaming." Finally, the new pipe is pulled through the enlarged hole and positioned in place underground.
What is considered a useful lifespan of a pipe?
The current pipeline varies in age throughout the 150-mile pipeline throughout the Florida Keys, but generally the pipe is 40-60 years old. Stress from pressure on the old pipe has led to deterioration or corrosion in many areas and increases the chances of potential failures. The existing drinking water pipe in Plantation Key has exceeded its useful lifespan, making it vulnerable to failures and breaks.
What is the useful lifespan of the new pipe?
The new 36-inch cathodically protected steel water main has an expected lifespan of 100 years. The combination of steel construction and cathodic protection (which prevents corrosion through electrochemical technology), improves reliability and flow capacity, and reduces the risk of leaks or breaks.
How does FKAA determine useful lifespan and where to work?
The Design Engineers have engineering models that consider existing soils, adjacent salt water, tidal effects, pressures, flow volume, and other factors to select the new water transmission main materials. Once the materials are selected the life span modeling is performed, and this pipeline has an expected lifespan of 100 years. The selection of the work areas by FKAA are based on technical engineering studies of the existing transmission pipeline and considers several factors including where the most amount of failures have been identified for prioritizing where the next area of replacement should be.
What was the old pipe’s material?
Ductile Iron and Steel most of which was installed by the US Navy.
What is the new pipe’s material?
The new pipe is made of spiral welded steel to eliminate point loading, and includes cathodic protection, with a special interior coating for drinking water standards, and includes a special epoxy coating on the outside to reduce corrosion, leaks, and other impacts from weather and subterranean tidal flows.
Who are the contractors on the job?
The crew working on this project is the same crew that successfully completed the Islamorada and Windley Key Transmission Main Replacement Projects ahead of schedule.
Construction engineers from Wade Trim & SF Engineering Services, contractors from Michels Pipeline, and underground utility construction company Giannetti are working with FKAA on the project.
The pipe looks so small driving by. How is it 36 inches?
You might be passing by the drill rig and/or its drill bits that dig through the tunnel (mentioned above). These drill bits drill a small pilot hole beneath the surface. Once the hole is complete, the rig pulls a larger drill bit through to widen the hole.
The 36 inches of the new pipeline refers to the inside diameter of the new pipe. The thickness of the steel walls and protective coating adds to the pipe’s overall size. This large-scale transmission main is designed to carry millions of gallons of water each day- crucial to supplying water reliably to Plantation Key.
