The document is a project log from August 8-13, 2005 detailing a pipe bursting project conducted by ARS Rescue Rooter for the Marriott Hotel in Riverside, California. The project involved bursting 130 feet of new 8-inch HDPE pipe to replace a corroded cast iron pipe running behind the hotel. The project experienced difficulties when the bursting head became trapped twice due to no-hub couplings and external PVC sleeves, requiring excavation both times. After the second impasse, the pulling structure failed under the 40+ tons of force. Crews were able to complete the project on Friday night after reinforcing the structure.

1. TECHNICAL ARCHIVES
PROJECT LOG
DATE
August 8–13, 2005
CLIENT
Marriott Hotel, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, CA
CONTRACTOR
ARS Rescue Rooter, Riverside, CA

2. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 2
Tuesday: Fusing 8” SDR17 HDPE pipe behind hotel. Note PE cap and short pieces of SDR11, for use as initial fuse after cap.

3. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 3
A close shave to make first fusion. Thicker walled pipe (SDR11) makes a stronger leading section to follow bursting head.

4. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 4
Entry point (at left) roughly 7 feet deep with angled access. Note temporary connections for residual flow.

5. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 5
Wednesday: Rescue Rooter confers with hotel management. Another active tie-in is discovered upstream from entry point, and
further excavation is required near loading dock to uncover that connection. Pull is postponed until the following morning.

6. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 6
6-inch steel I-beams are driven almost 4 feet into the ground to brace against pull at exit pit (4’ x 6’ x 6’ deep in hallway).

7. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 7
Wednesday afternoon:
Work inside hallway
precludes the use of
large power equipment.

8. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 8
Thursday morning: Water supply is shut off. Heavily corroded and restricted cast iron pipe at entry point, near property line.

9. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 9
Attaching cable and bursting head to fused pipe.

10. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 10
Head driver (front) screws onto 2” diameter threaded cable stud, and pipe driver threads on behind.

11. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 11
Bursting head, or mole, slides onto assembly, and is ready to go.

12. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 12
Shortly after entry, Thursday afternoon. 40 feet later, just inside the building foundation behind the loading dock, the bursting
head is trapped by a combination of no-hub couplings and a thick external sleeve of PVC plastic.

13. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 13
Friday morning: After excavating to free the bursting head, shoring was reset and pull was resumed. The 12+ hour delay in
resuming water and sewer service required hotel management to relocate numerous guests, including an entire wedding party.

14. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 14
Friday afternoon, viewed from Market Street. About 130’ of new pipe is in the ground. After another 30 feet or so, the bursting
head will show itself at the other end.

15. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 15
Not without a fight, however. Another PVC sleeve is encountered about 25’ from the finish. This requires another excavation
inside the hotel, at a wall separating lobby rest rooms from an adjacent hallway.

16. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 16
Ram, pulley base, and plate are hoisted together out of the pulling hole to clear the way for reinforcement of the shoring.

17. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 17
After the second impasse, the entire pulling support structure is failing. The left I-beam is noticeably bowed and shifted, and
the right I-beam is buckled and twisted out of place altogether. 6” x 6” wood beams spanning the steel were crushed.

18. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 18
ARS Rescue Rooter crew digs up the mole for the second time, then cuts away the PVC sleeve and collected couplings. PVC
often does not break apart like cast iron, clay, or concrete pipe, but rather folds and expands. Couplings around the bursting
head within such a sleeve can create a long and corrugated anchor, which in this case withstood about 45 tons of pulling force.

19. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 19
11:05 PM Friday, and the head has arrived! A second pair of 6” I-beams was driven in next to the failing ones, and they were
starting to shift after only 25’ of pulling. The last leg of the pull still required almost 40 tons of force and caused some pipe
stretching, even though the entire run contained no bends other than the entry.

20. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 20
Pulling assembly and cribbing removed. Note garden hose, used to put water down the line when pulling upstream. This re-
duces friction against the bursting head and softens surrounding earth, often resulting in significantly lower hydraulic pressures
needed to burst existing pipe. In this case, water was less effective against couplings and foundation sleeves embedded in sand.

21. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 21
Head slides off core assembly to facilitate cutting of pipe. This design also simplifies removal of the mole in restricted areas
such as manholes and narrow culverts.

22. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 22
Saturday Morning: Shortly after Rescue Rooter finishes connections and sewer is operational, steel beams are cut off at ground
level with an acetylene torch and removed.

23. RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: AUGUST 2005 23
Marriott General Manager Tom Donahue and TRIC Tools General Manager Myles O’Dwyer rejoice in the hard-earned (and
not so simple) pleasure of running water and working drains!