CSX Maplewood, TN Drainage Upgrade

About This Project

SX hired Midwest Mole to help replace a failing drainage culvert in Maplewood, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. Since shutting down a busy rail line isn’t an option, trenchless construction was the natural choice to keep rail traffic flowing nonstop.

Once we mobilized, crews dug a main work pit on one side of the track and a receiving pit on the other side. We set the boards and tracks, the power pack and push back, and the backstop to transfer the load from jacking to the soil behind the machine.

The first piece of pipe is the lead pipe, and it contains the auger and cutting head. The front of the lead pipe has an overcut band on it to eliminate potential skin friction during jacking. The cutting head overcuts just beyond the overcut band.

Once the auger began, crews regulated the speed of the auger as well as the speed of casing advancement. The steel pipe advanced 2.5’ for every stroke of the hydraulic rams. Once the entire 20’ piece of pipe was set, crews lowered and welded another piece onto the first and began the process again until the pipe reached the receiving pit.

To finish the job, the crew built headwalls, placed riprap, and grouted everything in place. One of the biggest challenges of the project occurred during jacking when crews ran into several large boulders and were forced to remove them by hand.