Junction Road Water Main

The City of Frankenmuth and Frankenmuth Township rely on one key water main that runs along Junction road for a daily supply of fresh drinking water. That 20-inch ductile-iron water main was originally installed in the 1970s. Ductile-iron typically has a 100-year lifespan, but several breaks within the main caused operators to take a closer look at the water main. An investigation into the breaks revealed that the pipe’s walls were being compromised by surrounding corrosive soils and caused 10 major breaks over 10 years including five in 2016.

A lack of pressure could mean contamination in the water system, and because the pipe was a transmission main for drinking water into the City, every time it had to be shut off to fix a break, the City was depending on their smaller water mains, and their two elevated towers to keep water pressure up. If pressure was to fall below 20 PSI, a boil-water notice would have to be issued for the entire City and Township.

To reduce the risks of reduced water pressure to the City and the Township, Spicer Group was hired to design a solution to the problem which included the installation of 10,000 feet of 20-inch PVC and more than 3,000 feet of 20-inch fusible PVC. The design had to accommodate several culvert crossings and county drain crossings. The project team reduced costs significantly by horizontally directional drilling the fusible PVC sections beneath the culvert and county drain crossings.