One of the largest
and most difficult pipe jacking installations ever attempted in
the U.S. was the Oakwood Beach Interceptor, Hylan Blvd. project,
Contract 6B-2 on Staten Island, N.Y. using special design HOBAS
fiberglass pipes. Contractor E.E. Cruz of Holmdel, N.J. placed
approximately 7,000 ft. of new 60" sanitary sewer line. The
job required nearly three years to construct due to the difficult
soil conditions, very deep depths (80 to 90 ft.) and high water
table (50 to 60 ft. above the pipes).
World Record Jack
This project was previously reported in the August, 1989
newsletter after the first push of 1,158 ft. was successfully
completed. Since that time, Cruz attempted and completed jacks of
209 ft., 1,336 ft., 1,170 ft., 1,560 ft., 950 ft. and 492 ft.
Quoting from an E.E. Cruz press release regarding the 1,560 ft.
distance, "The length appears to establish a world single
drive jacking record using a remote-controlled micro-tunneling
with slurry excavation technique." The laser guidance system
brought all of the bores home within 1" of both line and
grade.
HOBAS Far Superior
E.E. Cruz repeatedly stated that jacks of these distances in the
Hylan Blvd. project conditions could only be completed with this
success and reliability using HOBAS pipes. HOBAS pipes provide
benefits and a consistent high quality level unavailable with
other jacking pipes. Other contractors working on adjacent
sections of this massive project using other materials and
procedures made little progress over the same three year period.
In fact, the New York City Bureau of Sewers contemplated a
contract extension to E.E. Cruz to install additional quantities
of HOBAS pipes on other portions of the Oakwood Beach Interceptor
where other methods were unsuccessful.
