The Caloosahatchee River Crossing in Cape Coral, Florida, is the record holder for the longest thermoplastic installation by HDD of any diameter at 7,630 linear feet. Completed in 2023 by General Contractor Amici Engineering Contractors, the purpose of the project is to convey reclaimed water from Fort Meyers to Cape Coral through a 24-inch diameter DR18 fusible PVC pipeline crossing beneath the Caloosahatchee River. Overall, the reclaimed water program provides many benefits including reducing the consumption of drinking water for irrigation and non-potable uses and reducing groundwater withdrawals for non-potable uses.
Brierley Associates served as HDD Specialist consultant to Amici Engineering Contractors, the project General Contractor. The subsurface conditions in the project area contained areas of loose sandy, clayey, and silty soils and led to some concern about inadvertent releases of drilling fluids within the river. Through careful evaluation of the geotechnical report, hydrofracture analysis and drilling methodology, a successful plan was developed that resulted in completing the pilot hole and reaming passes with no losses of drilling fluid and a pipe pullback operation that lasted approximately 36 hours with very low tensile loads.
Click here to read the Trenchless Technology article.
Amici has produced an interesting and informative video about the project, here.