URS Corp.

  • Pipe Installation, Maintenance & Rehabilitation

    Crossing the fault

    A “floating” water transmission line is designed to survive up to 6.5 feet of earth displacement during an earthquake. Second of two articles.

    6 MIN READ
    VERY TIGHT FIT. In Fremont, Calif., two corrugated steel water lines (BDPLs 3 and 4) cross three traces — or strands — of the Hayward Fault at a 45-degree angle. At the most potentially damaging strand, Trace B, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is replacing BDPL 3 with a solution designed to withstand 6.5 feet of displacement. The new pipe will be fitted with specially fabricated ball and slip joints housed within an articulated concrete vault that will let the pipe expand, contract, and rotate safely during an earthquake. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2012 and end in 2014. Map: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

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