RCP will be presenting papers at the International Pipeline Conference in Calgary. Presenting authors from RCP include: Bill Byrd, P.E.; Larry Decker, P.E., and Ken Palmer, PhD. This month’s featured abstract is by Bill Byrd. We hope you will join us in Calgary for the full presentations.

Best Practices in Damage Prevention for Parallel Construction Projects

New pipelines are increasingly being encouraged (or forced) to share common or adjacent rights of way with existing utilities. Installation parallel to existing underground facilities for long distances greatly complicates construction and damage prevention, and creates a multitude of opportunities for damage to occur. According to the Pipeline and Gas Journal, as of 2008, 144,096 miles of new oil and gas pipelines are under construction or planned. Of these, North American companies are planning, designing and building 46,072 miles of pipelines. Much of this new mileage will be located inside or adjacent to existing utility corridors. For example, more than 59% of the 639 mile long Rockies Express East pipeline will follow existing rights-of-way. Lengthy parallel excavations pose an almost unlimited number of opportunities for excavation-related incidents to occur. This large amount of construction adjacent to hundreds of miles of existing underground utilities poses a very real risk of excavation damage that must be addressed. This paper describes current regulatory and industry association efforts to address these issues, and gives a case study of a real accident that was caused during parallel construction of a water main adjacent to an HVL pipeline.