By rosebell
In order to installing two 0.5m-diameter pipes across 4km of land between Plean and Cowie, Caledonia Water Alliance and Pipeline Drillers have tunnelled beneath a main railway line and motorway in a project for Scottish Water as part of a £13m program to support new housing in Stirlingshire. The pipes will carry pressurised waste water for treatment.
Installing the pipes was done through two different methods. While for the 4m-deep, 56m-long section beneath the motorway pipe ramming was used, for the 46m stretch under the railway line, the harder ground and greater depth of 8m required rock augur drilling.
With the aim of ensuring a smooth drilling operation beneath the railway line, work was carried out around the clock.
According to Scottish Water team manager Steven Greenhill: “This is an important project addressing one of our key strategic priorities to meet the demands of Scotland’s growing and shifting population. The twin challenges of drilling underneath both the motorway and railway line required a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to avoid causing major disruption. We are grateful to all involved for their help and support and I am particularly pleased tunnelling operations have been successfully completed.”
