New pipe route saves money and will reduce disruption

14 June 2005

A section of the Belfast-to-City pipeline will be laid across farm land saving the project $150,000 and reducing potential disruption to road users in the area.

The pipe route for stage three, from Tyrone Street, Belfast to Lower Styx  Road will travel through farmland from Factory Road to Marshland Road - see attached plan  (PDF 336KB). The original route had the pipe going down Gutheries and Belfast Roads and back up Marshland Road.

Work on stage three of the pipeline started in late May and from this week will mean that Factory Road will have only one lane open. Drivers should expect some delays. The contractor will use temporary lights to assist drivers along the road.

“The Council has worked with the farmer to reach an agreement to lay the pipe across his land. This means not only a shorter, more efficient route because there are fewer bends but also reduced disruption to motorists and a saving in the cost of the project,” says Bruce Henderson, the Council’s Wastewater Asset Manager.

This week the contractor is preparing pits on both sides of the Kaputone Creek
and railway line to enable the ‘thrusting’ of the pipe under the creek and railway. 

“Thrusting is a way to lay pipes without having to dig a trench,” says Mr Henderson. “It involves equipment, placed in the prepared pits, which push a steel pipe from one pit to the other.  The pvc pipe is then slipped into the steel pipe.”

The thrusting is scheduled for next week.

Stage two of the construction runs between Frosts Road and Bottle Lake Plantation. Work through a section of Travis Wetland started this month and is likely to be completed by September.

The pipe will be laid along a section of the walkway which, for safety reasons, is closed during construction.

Background

Originally scheduled for 2009 the pipeline is being constructed from Belfast to Frosts Roads, where it will connect with the city’s wastewater system.  The work has been brought forward partly due to the fast pace of development in and around Belfast.

Although Belfast has its own wastewater treatment plant, considerable upgrading would be required soon if it was to meet the standards necessary for the increased volume associated with the Belfast population growth. 

Current upgrading of the Christchurch wastewater treatment plant will improve water quality and increase capacity – sufficient to meet the growing needs of both Christchurch and Belfast.

Construction of the pipeline is being undertaken in three stages.  The first stage, on private land from Lower Styx Road to Bottle Lake Forest, was completed in December last year while the area was being subdivided. 

The Belfast pumping station will also be upgraded as part of this project.

The project is scheduled for completion in June 2006.

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