Improving wastewater capacity while maintaining transportation access presents significant coordination challenges in urban infrastructure projects. In Modesto, California, construction teams have completed a major pipeline and roadway restoration phase of a wastewater improvement program ahead of a seasonal restriction on right-of-way work.
Shimmick completed the phase as part of the City of Modesto’s River Trunk Realignment and River Trunk Pump Station Project. The work along Tuolumne Boulevard included force main installation, deep excavation, concrete encasement and roadway restoration in a heavily traveled corridor.
The completed phase included installation of 30-inch and 42-inch high-density polyethylene force main pipe. Crews used specialized shoring systems for excavations that extended more than 30 feet below grade and performed in-ditch fusion to join extended pipe sections.
Concrete encasements were also constructed to protect portions of the wastewater infrastructure. One installation involved approximately 400 linear feet of 42-inch HDPE pipe.
The project team encountered previously unidentified underground utilities during construction. Work sequencing and field coordination were adjusted to address the conflicts while maintaining safety and project progress.
Traffic management became a major factor in completing the work before seasonal restrictions took effect. The original traffic control approach did not provide for the continuous roadway closure needed for the construction activities.
Shimmick worked with the City of Modesto and Caltrans to develop an alternative plan that preserved essential access to Highway 99 while allowing continuous 24-hour closure operations within the active work area.
The revised approach reduced interruptions associated with repeatedly establishing and removing traffic controls. The corridor was cleared five days before the July 1 start of the annual restriction period, which prohibits construction activity within the public right of way through Oct. 15.
The wastewater project will continue with additional pipeline work and major jack-and-bore operations associated with the new pump station system.
The completed phase provides progress on a critical wastewater infrastructure program while demonstrating the importance of traffic planning, deep-excavation methods, utility coordination and construction sequencing on projects within active transportation corridors.
For public infrastructure owners and contractors, the project highlights how changes to traffic control strategies can affect construction productivity and schedule performance. Coordinating roadway access with continuous work operations allowed the Modesto project team to complete a critical construction phase before a defined seasonal work window closed.
The upcoming jack-and-bore and pipeline activities will continue the broader effort to improve wastewater infrastructure serving the Modesto area.
Source: Shimmick.
