Clyde Falling Main project flying high
A helicopter in action about to pour concrete into the castings for the plinths in the new Clyde Falling Main pipeline. The total length of the pipe is 78m and hill gradient is 52 degrees.
An integral part of the Clyde Falling Main Project has been installed, signifying another key milestone in the Central Otago District Council’s Water Stimulus projects.
On Tuesday (15 February), Fulton Hogan and its subcontractors cast the concrete for the intermediate plinths that secure the new falling main pipeline, which runs from the Clyde water reservoir to the existing network on Sunderland St.
The $1,050,000 project replaces the existing gravity-pressured falling main, with the old pipework to be retained for the backwash system for the future Lake Dunstan water supply treatment plant, Central Otago District Council Capital Projects Programme Manager Patrick Keenan said.
“However, owing to the very steep section in the middle, it was decided that the most effective and safe means of casting the concrete for those plinths would be by helicopter.”
It involved about a half day’s work to complete the task.
The new pipeline would provide increased resilience for the Clyde community’s water supply, he said.
The next stage is to fit the brackets that hold the pipework to the plinths then lift the pipeline sections in via crane.
