When Empire Pipe televised the sewer lines in the City of Fulda during the fall of 2018, the existing sewer line located on the east side of Fulda City Park was found to be in extremely poor condition. The area that was in this condition stretches from Fourth Street to Sixth Street.
This past week, GM Contracting, Lake Crystal, MN, began the work of replacing the sewer line using a “pipe bursting” method.
“Pipe bursting” is the intentional breaking of severely damaged sewer systems with techniques to make way for replacement systems. The method makes use of mechanically applied force and high-grade bursting heads.
To begin the process, a conical bursting head is fixed to a replacement pipe line, and fed through to the broken sewer line. As the equipment works, the pointed bursting head breaks existing, damaged pipe. The entire existing pipe is fractured and pushed from its original location. The replacement pipe, attached behind the bursting head, is fed in place and fills the cavity left behind by the bursting head.
