INDOT hired Midwest Mole to rehabilitate a failing 14-foot CMP culvert under Interstate 65. The existing CMP had a 2.5-foot belly due to the extreme pressure caused by years of heavy traffic on I-65. Our crews set up a bypass pump to divert the nearby Little Calumet River, dewatered the culvert, installed an 11.5-foot liner, built bulkheads, and filled the annular space with cellular grout. Click to Download Article
Category: News
Under River HDPE Pipe Pull
Midwest Mole crews installed 4,500 feet of 16” HDPE pipe under the Maumee River to connect Fort Wayne’s water supply on the north and south sides of the river. Due to the length of the river crossing, we needed a 1,000-foot bore that crossed under a functioning public trail system and a 48”-diameter reinforced concrete sanitary sewer. MWTA120_Under River HDPE Pipe Pull_32-33
The Mud and the Blood with Jason Miller
Jason Miller, President of Midwest Mole, was the featured guest on Aaron Witt of BuildWitt‘s podcast, Dirt Talk. Read Aaron’s write up of their conversation, with the episode linked below:
Jason Miller is the President of Midwest Mole, an Indiana-based tunneling contractor.
Jason started with Midwest Mole in his teens since his dad was a foreman there at the time. After giving college a shot for a semester, he decided it wasn’t for him, so he dove headfirst into tunneling as a career.
Starting as a laborer, he worked his way through the ranks to the top as an owner while maintaining an extreme sense of humility. He hasn’t forgotten where he started, and he leads the company with that field-first mentality to this day.
We talk about the intricacies of tunneling, what his thoughts are on the next generation, and why their line of work is only for a specific type of person. Digging a cramped tunnel by hand deep underground isn’t for everyone, which is why the Moles at Midwest Mole are so proud of what they do.
Learn more about Midwest Mole at midwestmole.com and follow Jason on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmiller8/
Midwest Mole Wins Top Job at NUCA Annual Awards
https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/midwest-mole-wins-top-job-at-nuca-annual-awards/47954
Midwest Mole, an Indiana-based trenchless construction contractor, recently came home with NUCA’s top 2019 trenchless construction job award and the top overall job award for their part in a wild emergency project in Kentucky.
While at the 2018 Kentucky Derby, Jason Miller, president of Midwest Mole, received a call about a potential emergency unfolding in Louisville.
The existing 7 ft. by 7 ft. Ohio River Interceptor (ORI) sewer directly underneath Main Street in downtown Louisville was in danger of collapsing. It had already failed in a few locations, and city officials blocked off sections of Main Street directly above the trunk line. When the mayor drove by and saw the mess in his downtown, he called for immediate action.
Louisville Metro Sewer District (MSD) put together an ace team of experts led by Ulliman Schutte Construction, including Boyer Inc., Midwest Mole and Thompson Pumps, to get the job done by Christmas of that same year.
“We put our heads together collectively and started coming up with solutions,” said Jason Miller.
The team found a 2,000-ft. section of the main trunk line that needed rehabilitation with Boyer, Inc. tackling the project using its Danby System. This system works by using a PVC liner as a form while injecting high-strength grout in between the existing tunnel and new liner to create structural strength. During construction, the team also built a bypass to pump 40 million gal. per day.
In addition to the rehab work, there were three combined sewer overflows (CSO’s) located directly underneath Main Street that needed replacing.
According to Miller, “We proposed an idea to put down shafts outside of Main Street and tunnel to the existing ORI sewer.”
Tunneling allowed Midwest Mole to build three new sewers and connect everything underground while Boyer, Inc. was rehabbing the ORI simultaneously.
The reason to eliminate the CSO’s is down to environmental concerns and agreements between cities like Louisville and the federal government. During significant rain events, combined sewer outflows drop sewage into local waterways. To eliminate the environmental and health hazard, Midwest Mole needed to build new sewer lines to split the sanitary sewer from the stormwater sewer.
“It was design-build accelerated times ten,” he said.
After spending more than a month to find three locations for the proposed shafts, Midwest Mole began digging all three with multiple crews starting in May. All shafts were traditional liner plate shafts dug using air spades and mini-excavators.
“One of the shafts was next to the convention center. One side of the box was the sidewalk, and four feet over was the foundation of the convention center,” Miller said.
Another obstacle was a mystery sewer line in the middle of one of the proposed shafts.
Once all shafts were complete, Midwest Mole hand-mined the 54-in. tunnels and jacked steel casing in as they went. Since there was no receiving pit, they couldn’t use an expensive tunneling machine to dig the tunnels.
Before tunneling, the Midwest Mole team did their best to determine where the tunnels needed to be.
“We had to make the best-educated guess collectively. We felt good about it because we had a lot of data, but we couldn’t ensure we were right on it.”
They surveyed the existing tunnel once it was safe to enter, but they couldn’t get exact data without manholes. On top of the survey data, they had two sets of different drawings to reference. Ultimately, they had about 6 in. of wiggle room on each tunnel.
Come December, the construction team finished all substantial parts of the project without closing a single road during the emergency repairs. Midwest Mole has eliminated the CSO’s and Main Street was safe once again.
“We were happy we were part of it. It was a lot of fun,” said Miller.
The residents of Louisville likely have no idea how important this project was for their wellbeing, but that’s the point and wonder of trenchless construction methods.
Midwest Mole came home with NUCA’s top award for this project because of the unique challenges proposed by the location, the timeline, and the scope of work. Additionally, it included multiple types of trenchless construction from rehab to tunneling to bypassing.
“Everyone trusted one another — we knew everyone involved in the project was going to do what they said they were going to do.”
Midwest Mole Constructing 2,100-ft Tunnel as Part of INDOT Improvements Project
After years of collaboration between the City of Fishers, City of Noblesville, Hamilton County and Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to address the traffic congestion and public safety challenges along the State Road (SR) 37 corridor, plans are underway to rehabilitate the corridor from 126th Street to 146th Street.
SR 37 is a four-lane, north-south corridor serving the residents of Hamilton County, the City of Fishers and the City of Noblesville in suburban northeastern Indianapolis. It is currently owned and operated by INDOT.
Hamilton County is the fastest-growing county in Indiana. The population of Fishers grew from 7,508 in 1990 to over 90,000 today, and Noblesville’s population grew from 17,655 to over 60,000 in the same timeframe. More than 50,000 vehicles now travel the corridor each day, and they are regulated at each of the cross streets with traffic signals that are becoming more overloaded as time passes.
Using a technique pioneered elsewhere in the region, SR 37 will be converted from a surface street to a freeway by constructing tight roundabout interchanges at existing intersections (plus one larger interchange) and depressing the SR 37 roadway. This allows the road to be upgraded to a freeway with limited displacement and for far less cost than constructing a new freeway.
In advance of SR 37 roadway improvements, infrastructure needs to be constructed to drain water from the newly depressed roadways. In October 2018, Midwest Mole, of nearby Greenfield, Indiana, was given Notice to Proceed on a project to build a 2,100-ft long, 84-in. excavated diameter tunnel for drainage improvements.
Underground Specialist
Midwest Mole is a full-service trenchless contractor that began operation in 1982. The active NUCA member provides a suite of underground construction services to municipal, utility, highway, railroad and private sector clients throughout the United States, including auger boring, microtunneling, pilot tube boring, pipe ramming, pipe jacking, tunneling and horizontal directional drilling.
For the SR 37 project, Midwest Mole’s contract involves constructing the 2,100-ft tunnel from a pit in a residential/commercial area, tunneling eastward to SR 37. As general contractor for the project, Midwest Mole was also responsible for site access construction, as well as a building a detention pond and outlet facility to Shoemaker Ditch.
Midwest Mole elected to use an 84-in. tunnel boring machine (TBM) to construct the tunnel using steel ring beams and wood lagging support. The TBM was supplied by NUCA Sustaining National Partner Akkerman Inc. Upon completion of the tunnel, crews will install 54-in. fiberglass pipe from Hobas Pipe as the final liner, grouted in place with cellular grout.
Because of the length of the tunnel – among the longest the company has built – Midwest Mole made some modifications to the machine. Crews extended the muck conveyor system to about 90 ft to accommodate a three-car muck train, allowing more efficient mucking and excavation.
Additionally, Midwest Mole equipped the TBM with an on-board electric hydraulic power pack. Typically designed for shorter distances, TBMs in this size range are usually powered by an electric hydraulic power pack located in the shaft with hydraulic oil lines installed along the length of the tunnel to power the TBM. An additional benefit to the on-board electric hydraulic power pack was reduced noise in the residential/commercial area.
“We were fortunate that we were able to bring power to the site to help keep it quiet – that was especially important because we were in immediate proximity to residents,” said Mike Liotti, project engineer for Midwest Mole. “In some places bringing power to the site can be a challenge, but in this case there was an existing high-voltage power drop for an ice rink within 700 ft of our main working site.”
Also, to reduce impact on residents, the contractor has limited working hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with Midwest Mole’s typical work day going from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Digging Deep
The main work pit was built using trench boxes and is approximately 44 ft long by 14 ft wide. Based on ground investigation, the geology along the alignment was expected to be primarily glacial till – fairly common for the Indianapolis area but also very complex. The till comprises pockets of water and sand and is interlaced with boulders.
“What is interesting about the ground is that there are not connected layers of geology – just pockets of different ground types and groundwater,” Liotti said. “You can be tunneling along and then suddenly you’re in a completely different type of ground in as little as 10 ft. It’s a very challenging environment for tunneling.”
Because of the variable ground, a closed face was specified. While the closed face is helpful in controlling the face of the tunnel in sandy and running conditions, it also makes it more challenging to deal with boulders.
To help break up boulders so they can pass through the cutterhead, crews are using the Micro-Blaster product from EzeBreak. Micro-Blaster, also used by demolition contractors, requires drilling a small hole into the boulder before activating a small blast or series of blasts to break up the rock. The small size of the blast hole eases the task of drilling, especially in cases where a boulder may be encountered in soft ground conditions.
As of late April, crews had mined approximately 780 lf of the 2,100-lf alignment, and have encountered approximately 20 boulders to date. The contract does offer a provision for dealing with boulders in excess of 18 in. in three dimensions: the first 4 hours of dealing with the obstruction are the responsibility of the contractor, while INDOT reimburses the contractor for work beyond 4 hours.
Three manholes are included in the project: one will be at the main work pit, one at the terminus, and one intermediate manhole at approximately 1,300 ft from the work pit. Midwest Mole expects to complete tunneling work in late July, and has a final completion date of May 2020 for site restoration, etc.
Sliplining in Indiana
A failing culvert was given a second life through trenchless rehabilitation
INFRASTEEL, A PERMANENT CULVERT REHABILITATION SYSTEM, was used by Midwest Mole of Greenfield, Indiana, to slipline a 245-ft long, 144-in. diameter failing corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert under US 31 in Miami County, Indiana.
US 31 is a heavily traveled northsouth thoroughfare in Indiana, so the Indiana Department of Transportation determined that sliplining was the best option for repairing the failing structure. The project was bid in the spring of 2017, and construction work was performed in the fall of 2017.
Precision Pipe’s InfraSteel culvert liner is made from smooth wall carbon steel, in custom shapes and sizes specifically for each culvert failure site. InfraSteel has extra copper in the steel for added corrosion resistance and is made in wall thicknesses from ½ to 2 in. thick, which provides superior structural integrity. InfraSteel’s design life is calculated by adding sacrificial steel, for each year of desired life expectancy, to the wall thickness required to handle the existing load bearing requirements. The existing structure for this site was round and reasonably straight, however, it did have a dip in the middle of the run which was taken in consideration when the size was determined. The other major sizing consideration is the hydraulic capacity of the liner. InfraSteel’s Manning’s coefficient is .012, and inlet and outlet control features are available but were not required for this project.
Midwest Mole had to remove approximately 2 ft of silt from the bottom of the existing structure in order to determine what size would fit inside of the host pipe structure. Once the silt was removed, a survey of the line was completed for both elevations and the alignment of the existing pipe. A mandrel built to the OD of the proposed liner was assembled and pulled through the existing pipe prior to final dimensions of the liner being released for fabrication to verify that no issues would arise once the lining commenced. A round liner with an internal dimension of 135 in. was determined to be the best size for this structure. D. H. Charles Engineering’s Cardiff, California, office did the load bearing calculations to determine the wall thickness that would meet HS-20 load bearing requirements, considering the worst case with the tire directly over the top of the culvert for vehicle weight with 5 ft of cover, and on 6 ft of cover for soil weight. A sacrificial loss of .280 in. was added to provide the 70-year life expectancy, based on the culvert being located in an immersed zone with corrosive water. A wall thickness of ¾ in. was determined to be the appropriate wall thickness for this particular project.
When construction was ready to begin, the site had to be prepared. “We were working in a creek, so we had to set up a bypass pumping system that allowed us to work in the dry during the majority of the installation. Stormwater control was a critical component of the project that took a lot of time, handling pumps and piping too reroute flows as needed on the creek” says Midwest Mole senior project manager David Howell.
“We were fortunate too that we had a big enough shoulder to set a crane up on the shoulder area and limit traffic disruption,” he added.
Also, because this was a sliplining project, there was no need to detour traffic off of US 31. There are multiple residences and businesses with access either off of US 31 or from frontage roads which would be affected by detours. This project also coincided with other paving work being done nearby on US 31 that would have caused additional delays or complications in getting both projects completed in a timely manner if road closures or detours would have been required for this work. Road closures and detours are some of the greatest costs associated with culvert failure. Once failure has occurred, and the road has collapsed there is no option for emergency vehicles, commercial vehicles and the travelig public except to detour around the failure.
Midwest Mole unloaded the Infra-Steel liner directly from the delivery trucks to the construction pit. Steel runners were installed onto the bottom of the existing CMP to allow the steel liner to ride on top of, as it was being pushd into place. Also, grease was applied to the runners to help reduce friction between the InfraSteel liner and the steel runners, which is the best way to insure a smooth insertion. InfraSteel liner can be pushed into place without using steel runners. However, using bar stock, channel iron or angle iron as a track system definitely facilitates the insertion process for most applications.
A boring machine track was set up in the ditch line of the construction area, and the liner sections were placed on the track. The push pack of the boring machine was used to slip line the sections into place inside of the failing structure. The insertion process of the 245 ft of InfraSteel liner took three days. Once the pipe was in place it was welded from the ID in approximately one week. Midwest Mole used a cellular grout to fill the annular space between the old CMP and the new InfraSteel liner.
This is not the first project where Midwest Mole has worked with Infrasteel. They have performed these installs for various department of transportations. Howell says each of these installations have been successful and Midwest Mole always look forward to the opportunity to work with the Infrasteel team to offer a great solution to various drainage issues in repairing failing pipes. Infrasteel has enjoyed the opportunity to work with contractors such as Midwest Mole, which has been in the trenchless construction industry since 1982, that help to make for a successful project.
States and counties with active culvert inspection programs are less likely to suffer catstophic failure than those who wait until failure occures. Many potential failures can be identified from street level as dips in the road or guardrails, where there are creeks or streams, is most often an indication of failure under our roads. Whether it is an application for our product, or another culvert rehabilitation product, we believe it is important to “Rehabilate Before It’s Too Late.”
Cullom Walker is a partner at Precision Pipe and Products and is co-founder of InfraSteel Permanent Culvert Rehabilitation.
Last Word: DCA Showcases HDD on National Mall
On June 5, members of DCA’s Government Relations Committee and HDD Committee conducted a demonstration of HDD on the Washington Mall, where a range of interested stakeholders were able to witness the HDD process up close and personal.
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Small but Mighty: Midwest Mole Installs 520-ft Sanitary Sewer Line through Various Ground Conditions
In scenic Bloomington, Indiana, contractor Midwest Mole put its 36-in. Robbins Small Boring Unit (SBU) to work. The machine, which is owned by the trenchless technology company, bored a 520-ft crossing as part of the I-69 Section 5 Project owned by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
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Midwest Mole Rising to the Challenge
Danielle Stigall joined Midwest Mole, a trenchless technology company that provides a full range of underground services, just six months ago. But you’d never guess it. She has an easy rapport with colleagues, a sound grasp on the business and a passion for its culture.
That’s the way it works at Midwest Mole, which was founded in 1982. In an atmosphere in which “everybody cares about one another,” employees are family. And they’re driven – from the start – to succeed.
Prior to her arrival as director of human resources, the organization didn’t have a formal HR department.
“In the short time she’s been here, she’s made such a significant impact,” remarks vice president of risk management Gary Gagliardi. “People don’t like change, so to start something new and to create your own department and to do it in the professional way she’s done it
– it’s been phenomenal.”
As the duo treats me to a tour of the Greenfield headquarters, it’s clear that hard work, humility and humor are among the keys to Midwest Mole’s longevity.
‘Something new every day’
Walls are bathed in bright colors and sprinkled with homages to employee training, wellness and community service.
Feisty Joanne Edwards looks up from her desk with a grin.
“She was here when we made the (Best Places) list (in 2009),” Stigall notes.
A 22-year veteran of Midwest Mole, Edwards cites the family-oriented atmosphere and diverse opportunities as reasons she’s stayed.
“We face a lot of challenges,” asserts the company controller. “I think everybody is up to a good challenge at times. Especially with the projects that we work (on) all over the United States. We’re currently registered in like 24 states. It’s a challenge for me to stay current with all of that at any given time.”
Accounting manager Dee Dellacca has nearly three years at Midwest Mole under her belt. She relishes the variety.
“I came from the health care industry as well as owning my own business. … I knew nothing about construction other than there were safety rules,” she jokes. “Everybody’s been very open to teach and to share their knowledge. That’s what’s amazing.
“When we have our annual meeting, like last year, it was so cool to watch our field guys teach each other what they were doing with the different boring (creating a hole) or safety things they were doing out in the garage.”
‘Dig Deep, Be Healthy’
Adorning a wall is a list of supported charities, such as Little Wish Foundation, Old Bethel Food Pantry and American Cancer Society.
“We just joined Relay for Life,” Stigall comments. “The Relay is a good cause as well because we have people join the team and do the relay together.”
Another hallway wall contains two striking mantras – ‘Dig Deep’ and ‘Be Healthy’ – painted in bold, black letters. Just above is a big-screen television displaying an office mobility routine. Nearby is the on-site gym. The walls are bright orange. Equipment beckons.
“This is where (the personal trainer) tortures everybody,” Gagliardi quips. “She comes out twice a week and whoever can make the class attends.”
Additional perks include health screenings, a weekly yoga class, monthly luncheon, and free healthy beverages and snacks. There’s also a corporate chaplain. “It’s all confidential, of course,”
Gagliardi emphasizes. “If we recognize that somebody may need (assistance), we’ll steer (the corporate chaplain) in their direction and he takes it from there.”
Moley Money, music and elephants
Ready to earn Moley Money?
“It’s $50 and it’s for jobs well done. It sounds kind of hokey, but we send everybody a birthday card with cash in it. A lot of people say, ‘That’s really cool. Nobody’s ever done that for me – maybe not since I was 10 and grandma sent $5 in the mail,’ ” declares president Jason Miller with a good-natured laugh.
Monthly birthday and anniversary celebrations are face to face.
“They throw one lunch for everyone just to say, “Thank you’ and, ‘We recognize you,’ ” imparts estimating administrator Amy Webster.
She notes that on other occasions, CEO Dan Liotti entertains the team with food and festivities.
“Dan, once a year when it’s warm out, will bring out the grill and his trailer and put on music. We’ll do fun things out there like human foosball and frisbee golf. Just because!”
Gagliardi chimes in: “We also take the trailer to the job sites sometimes. We always take the guys out to lunch and dinner.”
Employee appreciation is the theme for Midwest Mole’s 2018 company meeting. Staff and their entire family are invited to the three-day event. Among the activities are an elephant spa, feeding a giraffe, golf tournament and horseback riding.
Safety stats
Music and machinery reverberate in the maintenance area.
“We do our own maintenance on all of our equipment. We also have a trucking division. We have three full-time professional drivers. These are the types of rigs they use,” observes Gagliardi, gesturing to equipment.
Moments later, mechanic Brandon O’Brien fires up a plasma cutter. After completing the task, he points out how every day on the job is different – something he enjoys.
“You kind of have to figure everything out as we go pretty much. Nothing’s the same here.”
One constant is an emphasis on safety. “We’ve gone four consecutive years without any serious injuries, which we’re very proud of,” Gagliardi declares. “I give all of the credit to the foremen because I put the responsibility on them.”
Midwest Mole’s preventative care program, for instance, illustrates the company’s commitment to team members.