Construction Technologies for Sewer Rehabilitation

Abstract

The deterioration, inadequacy, and insufficiency of the nation's infrastructure is a serious problem affecting the U.S. today. Several important organizations have documented this problem extensively, and agreed on the need to develop new infrastructure rehabilitation research strategies, tools, and products to improve the performance and efficiency of existing facilities. Since the inherently complex nature of rehabilitation projects requires very close interaction between the design and the construction processes, an understanding of the characteristics, requirements, capabilities, and limitations of construction technologies for infrastructure rehabilitation is important to help overcome the fragmentation of the planning, design, construction, and maintenance processes, and the conservative approaches of designers that focus more on legal and liability concerns than on innovation and development of new ideas and technologies. It is also important to understand the role construction technologies play in developing solutions for infrastructure rehabilitation problems. Focusing on the rehabilitation of sewer systems as an example, this paper: (1) Presents a synthesis of the state of the art of construction technologies for sewer rehabilitation; (2) discusses the role they play within an optimal planning approach for sewer rehabilitation; and (3) introduces a broader framework for an integrated design/construction research program for infrastructure rehabilitation.