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There was no tornado, hurricane, or earthquake when a wrathful Mother Nature called on Albany, New York, in May of last year. But near record spring rains caused a landslide that wreaked enough havoc for Albany and the neighboring town of Bethlehem to declare states of emergency. Under a barrage of pelting rain, a saturated embankment began to cave in near Albany’s border with Bethlehem. The initial landslide prompted the closing of one traffic lane along a portion of busy Delaware Avenue (State Route 443), which is the major artery between Bethlehem and Albany. Tons of soil continued sliding off the embankment, and all four lanes of Delaware Avenue were closed two days after the initial landslide. Although Delaware Avenue remained intact, its foundation was precarious. More than 19,000 daily commuters were forced to take already-congested alternate routes. One business was swallowed by the landslides and two others seriously threatened. Along with that situation, there was paramount concern about Albany’s water supply. The landslides had deposited tons of dirt and vegetation into Normans Kill (kill is a Dutch word for stream) 110 feet below Delaware Avenue. That effectively created an earthen dam 90 feet wide and approximately 250 feet long. Officials feared that a blocked Normans Kill would create its own route around the earthen dam. That could uproot a portion of a 22-mile pipeline that – alone – supplies treated water for the entire city of Albany and its 100,000 people. Had that 48-inch line been knocked out, Albany would have had only a 10-day supply of treated water. “The stream was completely blocked by the landslide,” said Albany Water Commissioner Robert Cross. “The waters backed up, flooding the fields and threatening to undermine our water conduit and associated valve structure. We had to take immediate action to prevent a full-scale disaster for our city.” Because Delaware Avenue is a state thoroughfare, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) was put in charge of necessary rebuilding projects. The primary objective of the ensuing work was to reopen all four lanes of Delaware Avenue as soon as possible – definitely before winter to avoid new slides caused by freezing and thawing cycles. Temporary repairs were made so that two lanes could be reopened, but those repairs were not considered adequate to withstand a major rainstorm. To complete the final repairs, it was necessary to – as quickly as possible – relocate more than 1,600 feet of Albany’s 48-inch waterline and to relocate the Normans Kill channel. Relocating the channel would stabilize the landslide area so that Delaware Avenue could be reopened. “For a few weeks, it was like we were literally up the proverbial creek without a paddle,” said John Bassett, P.E., a design engineer with the NYSDOT. “At the very least, we had worlds of work to do on a shoestring time frame. In a worst case scenario, you would have seen the capital city of New York being without potable water. It had the trappings of a disaster script.” After visiting the site, Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings called the governor of New York, George Pataki, and alerted him to the potential disaster. “The governor quickly convened his top administrators and pledged his full support to do whatever was necessary to protect our city’s water supply,” said Jennings, who spent numerous hours at the site before and during construction. According to Bassett, the biggest problem facing the NYSDOT was the relocation of the 48-inch waterline. “Traditional delivery times for the pipe, fittings, and valves were a minimum of three to four months — time that we did not have,” Bassett said. “We made it a major priority to find a way to expedite this. “Eventually we had direct contact with representatives from American Cast Iron Pipe Company who were willing to guarantee an initial pipe and fitting shipment within four weeks of the start of our emergency contract to relocate the waterline and all other deliveries shortly afterwards,” Bassett said. “These time frames were within the contractor’s critical path for the project.” The existing 48-inch waterline divided into two mains that crossed the Normans Kill. Each part of the line crossing the stream was encased in a wood-pile-supported, reinforced-concrete encasement. The two lines merged into a single conduit on the opposite side of Normans Kill. That design provided redundancy while crossing the stream. The design for the new waterline called for the same redundancy, only under the newly relocated streambed. In June 2000, Smith & Mahoney, P.C., of Albany, was asked to design and prepare contract documents for the installation of the new 48-inch ductile iron waterline adjacent to and underneath the proposed realignment of the Normans Kill stream. American Lok-Ring® Ductile Iron pipe was chosen as a restrained joint system and pre-cast concrete structures were used. “The site conditions and emergency construction schedule did not support conventional methods of poured-in-place concrete supports or structures,” said Charles Homeyer, senior project manager for Smith & Mahoney. Homeyer notes that several factors made this project especially difficult. For example, Albany’s Department of Water and Water Supply required that any shutdown of the system for installation of new piping be held to a maximum of four days. So Smith & Mahoney divided the design into strategic phases to meet that requirement. In addition, complex geological conditions lay under the site. The over-burden consisted of soft, interbedded silt and clay – a soil estimated to have a very low bearing capacity, unable to support large thrust blocks that would be required for a waterline designed to operate at pressures as high as 250 psi. Thus, a fully restrained pipe joint system was implemented. Given the complexity of the situation and the associated sense of urgency, contractor James H. Maloy, Inc. of Loudonville, New York, began work on the project on extremely short notice. The contractor received a call from the NYSDOT on a Thursday night, directing Maloy to attend a pre-construction meeting the following morning. Within hours of that meeting, Maloy had equipment and men working at the site. From that point on, Maloy worked seven days a week for 10 to 12 hours a shift. During critical phases of the job, work was round the clock. For Maloy, the critical part of the project was installing the new 48-inch water main through the new channel alignment. The new channel was in a field of silty sand over soft gray clay. The construction site was at the bottom of two hills next to a stream that became a “raging torrent when it rained,” according to Jack Maloy, the contractor’s vice president. “We had 90,000 cubic yards of silt and soft clays that had to be moved before pipe installation could begin,” Maloy said. “When it rained – and it did rain — it was a definite challenge to keep runoff from the hills and the rising creek out of our excavation – some of which was 28 feet deep. Excavating the material was no problem for our large excavators. The challenge was the disposal of this mixture of soft gray clay, silt, and ground water.” Because the 48-inch line is the only water supply line for Albany, twin lines had to be installed through the new channel crossing. The specifications called for the water mains to be installed on bed rock and concrete-encased through the new stream crossings. One line was excavated to bedrock that was 18 feet deeper than the stream bed. The pipe was then installed on a slab of concrete. The mirror line 90 feet away had to be on piles because the bedrock was too deep. Twenty-two-and-one-half-degree bends were used to cross the channel. “Because we were working with AMERICAN Lok-Ring® pipe, the need for concrete thrust blocks was eliminated,” Jack Maloy said. “Given the high water pressures of 150 psi or more – and high pressure test of 250 psi – and poor soil conditions, this was a huge benefit. “Initially, we were extremely concerned about the field-cut pipe and locking welds, but with the hands-on assistance from AMERICAN, our learning curve was very short,” according to Jack Maloy. “AMERICAN had two men on site for two days until we were confident. It was very reassuring to know we had the full weight of the AMERICAN brain trust behind us.” During the initial tie-in with the existing main, the city’s water had to be shut off with only 72 hours of reserve. Work was round the clock, and AMERICAN representatives were on site and even in the trench to assist. The line was tested at 250 psi – with no leaks. Said Barry Canniff, the pipeline superintendent for James H. Maloy: “The AMERICAN Lok-Ring® pipe was relatively light-weight, and its 20-foot lengths were easy to work with compared with the existing 12-foot lengths, which weighed four or five tons each. The pipe was easy to cut with a diamond blade on the cut-off saw. AMERICAN Lok-Ring® pipe saved a lot of large concrete thrust blocks that would have been needed to withstand the 250 psi hydro-testing required on the many bends required for this job. “In the conditions we had to work in, the pipe was easy to install because of the ease of assembly of the joints. After we put a few pieces of the pipe together we knew just what was required,” Canniff said. “I liked the locking ability of the pipe. Using the Lok-Ring® pipe and not having to over-excavate for concrete thrust blocks, combined with not leaving our excavation open and trying to schedule concrete trucks, made the job go smoother. Also, there was maneuverability with the Lok-Ring® .” Because Delaware Avenue had to be reopened before winter, there simply was no time to waste in preparing for and executing construction activities. In that regard, AMERICAN’s sales and technical support received high marks. Said Canniff: “AMERICAN’s sales engineer, John Fernandi, was involved with our job from day one. He visited our site numerous times from our first attempt at putting pipe together to our last hydrostatic test. A field representative came out and showed our welders how to weld the stop rings on the pipe, and he stayed until we were confident about that phase of the job. Deliveries were timely and there was always someone to speak with about trouble shooting to prevent bottlenecks on the job.” According to the NYSDOT’s Bassett, “The complete commitment from the many parties involved with this project including the City of Albany, federal and state regulatory agencies, the contractor, the pipe and valve manufacturers, and NYSDOT led to the successful completion of the project. “Working with AMERICAN was one of the few bright spots,” Bassett said. “The company’s sales engineer met with us at the site on very short notice and we were able to reach agreement on the supply of the material that day. Without AMERICAN’s accelerated delivery times, it is unlikely that all four lanes of the highway would have been reopened before winter. “AMERICAN told us up front that they wanted to play a major role in making this project a success, and they delivered.”

The landslide destroyed one business and seriously threatened two others. It also put Delaware Avenue in serious peril, forcing the closing of the four-lane thoroughfare — a major artery between Albany and Bethlehem. Albany’s water supply was also threatened. As part of a $1.6 million project, AMERICAN supplied 3,000 feet of 48-inch pipe to relocate a portion of a pipeline that – alone – supplies treated water for the entire city. PHOTO COURTESY OF NYSDOT The new 48-inch waterline included twin lines crossing Normans Kill stream and merging on the other side. The design by Smith & Mahoney, P.C., called for each part of the pipe crossing the stream to be reinforced with concrete encasement. Here, a section of AMERICAN pipe is shown prior to the final pouring of concrete. As sunshine slowly dries muddy conditions at the construction site, AMERICAN pipe lies ready for installation. Said John Bassett, P.E., a design engineer with the New York State Department of Transportation: “Without AMERICAN’s accelerated delivery times, it is unlikely that all four lanes of (Delaware Avenue) would have been reopened before winter.” Workers apply the finishing touches to the installation of a section of AMERICAN 48-inch Lok-Ring® pipe. “Because we were working with AMERICAN Lok-Ring® pipe, the need for concrete thrust blocks was eliminated,” said Jack Maloy, vice president of contractor James H. Maloy, Inc. “Given the high water pressures of 150 psi or more – and high pressure test of 250 psi – and poor soil conditions, this was a huge benefit.”

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