Key project team members looking at the successful force main HDD pullback. Bruce Neu of Mott MacDonald is third from right.
The South Shores Second Sub-Aqueous Force Main Crossing has been recognized as a 2016 Project of the Year by the Florida Region of the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA). Mott MacDonald's Jacksonville-based team served as Owner's Representative for JEA, the utilities company for Jacksonville, FL. We oversaw the installation of 4,200 linear feet of 36-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sewer force main inside a 42-inch steel casing.
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) under the St. Johns River was used to replace the 40 -year-old existing force main, which serves a large portion of the Jacksonville area. The new piping under the river connects the existing 30-inch and 42-inch force mains, increasing daily capacity from 10 million gallons per day (MGD) to nearly 17 MGD.
Challenges of this project included design review and coordination, construction mobilization and staging, permitting guidance, meeting the specified JEA construction schedule with minimal disruption to the public, and daily construction inspection.
Mott MacDonald team members included Leslie Samel (Project Manager), Bruce Neu (Lead Engineer and Lead Construction Inspector), and Dr. Glenn Duyvestyn (QA/QC). The new force main was successfully installed, tested, and cleared for use in August 2016. The total cost of the project was $14.26 million, and the force main is expected to be in service for the next 40 to 50 years .