From a 12 km forced line in Florida to the longest pedestrian bridge in Utah to a small soccer field in Haiti, plastic pipes and hoses are innovative ways of transporting water, people, rain and other resources.
These three infrastructure projects were recognized in 2021 by the Plastics Pipe Institute, a trade association based in Irving, Texas that represents the plastic pipe sector.
For more than 10 years, PPI members have been choosing a project of the year in the areas of building construction, drainage, energy pipe systems, municipal / industry as well as energy and communication.
This year, the largest of the winning projects is a $ 62 million redundant power line that carries wastewater from a lift station in Florida to the GT Lohmeyer wastewater treatment plant that serves the Fort Lauderdale area.
The municipal project creates redundancy in a 50-year-old, ruptured main sewer in need of renovation. Fort Lauderdale officials plan to use the new power line while upgrading the obsolete sewer transmission line with the aim of creating a redundant and reliable system later.
The new power line uses 54-inch, high-density polyethylene tubing from JM Eagle of Los Angeles and Agru America of Georgetown, SC.
With estimated sales of $ 3.14 billion, JM Eagle is the No. 1 pipe, profile and pipe extruder in North America, according to the latest Plastics News ranking.
“HDPE pipe was chosen because it is more corrosion-resistant, has fewer mechanical connections and is more flexible than traditional ductile iron sewer pipes, reducing maintenance requirements and improving the infrastructure’s resilience to rising water levels and rising sea levels,” said a press release on the City of Fort Lauderdale website.
Also, HDPE pipes can be installed using a trenchless method called underground directional drilling, which is less disruptive to streets, traffic, residents and neighborhoods, Fort Lauderdale officials found.
In another infrastructure project, Utah Valley University laid out a high-tech welcome mat with heated concrete, 125 lights and 18 security cameras when building the state’s largest pedestrian bridge – it spans more than three soccer fields. The $ 30.7 million, 970 foot covered bridge that crosses Interstate 15 to connect the main and west campuses of the UVU in Orem contains a snow melting system that uses plastic tubing and tubing made by Rehau and Apple Valley, based in Leesburg, Virginia, Minnesota-based Uponor Inc.
The project includes approximately 35,000 square feet of Rehau crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) Raupex O2 barrier pipe for the snowmelt loops supplied with heated antifreeze through 1,900 foot Uponor polypropylene random copolymer pipe with modified crystallinity and temperature resistance (PP -RCT).
With estimated sales of $ 397 million, Uponor is the 13th largest pipe, profile and pipe extruder in North America, according to the latest Plastics News ranking.
Rehau ranks 28th with estimated sales of $ 185 million.
According to UVU President Astrid Tuminez, the company’s products are in a bridge that offers 5,000 students a faster and safer route to campus.
“With Utah Valley University growing on the west side of I-15 and housing developments growing, that number could climb to 20,000. Regardless of the reason we’re coming to our campus, this bridge will provide another welcome path to our front door, ”Tuminezz said in a press release.
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