Innovative Pipeline Crossing

JANUARY 2019 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 7 which has higher risk of frac-outs into the surrounding rivers or fields, the technology used by IPC, the biggest Direct Pipe® provider in the country, is based on a micro-tunneling machine (AVN) which uses a slurry circuit to pump excavated material out of the pipeline, decreasing frac out risk. “IPC and Direct Pipe® were selected for the Credit River crossing because this technology allowed for a shorter and shallower crossing profile that wouldn’t have been possible using the HDD method, due to boulders and unfavorable geotechnical conditions,” says Jim Murphy, Engineering Consul- tant for UPI. Arash Jaraiedi, Project Manager of Pipeline Projects with TransCanada Pipelines, recalls the first National Energy Board-sanctioned Direct Pipe® installation in Canada. “We wanted to makesure [thenearby landowners] felt very comfortable and confident about the technology. We brought forward IPC earlier than usual, and IPC really helped us during the design includ- ing preplanning and pre-construction planning for this particular project. As a result of all this collaboration, great