Tech’s current pipe work on campus is part of the city of Atlanta’s pipe assessment project. The pipe assessment project taking place in Midtown is part of an Atlanta-based program to rehabilitate old pipes. The specified area is bound by Tenth Street in the north, Marietta Boulevard in the south and west, and Interstates 75 and 85 on the east side. This region includes all of the Tech campus.
The project will start with an assessment of pipe health using CCTV inspection technology, which sends a self-propelled video camera through a pipeline. Depending on the condition of the pipes, technicians will decide to use either pipe bursting or CIPP (cured-in-place-pipe) technology. The pipe bursting method uses a hydraulic machine that breaks up the damaged pipe while pulling a new pipe through the old path at the same time. In the CIPP lining process, a jointless new pipe is inserted into the old pipe.
“We’re assessing pipes starting in midsummer to get an idea of what’s going on underground and what needs to be done,” said Deanne Titus, Public Information Manager of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management.
Construction on rehabilitating the pipes is expected to last until 2009. There is a possibility that some Tech roads will have to be closed, but concrete plans will have to wait until the preliminary evaluations are completed. In addition to replacing the water main and reconditioning the sewers, a gas company is building a major pipeline here as well. The companies that are part of this project include Reynolds Inliner and Southeastern Pipes, among others.
“It’s a great collaboration between city engineers, the program management team, and local architectural and engineering firms,” Titus said.