After 50 years of enduring intense usage, the bridge over the river De Zenne in Hombeek, Belgium, is ready for a big renovation. Part of this renovation is the replacement of a natural gas pipeline that currently runs alongside the bridge. It will be replace by a new underground pipeline, for which Brownline surveyed a 400 meter long drill with the Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool.
The bridge over the river De Zenne is a fixed concrete bridge that was inaugurated in 1968. The last inspection results showed that after more than 50 years, the bridge was in need of a thorough renovation. Both the bridge’s upper part and deck as well as the concrete support pillars will be repaired, and if needed, replaced entirely. Aside from the natural gas pipeline, a multitude of other pipe lines and cables cross the river through the bridge. This means that all of them need to be removed and repositioned before the renovations can take place.
The total trajectory of this drill provides other challenging factors as well. Besides the river, the busy byroad N109 and highway E19 will be crossed, and the exit point is very close to several buildings. On top of all of this, the temporary closure of a heavily used traffic bridge always causes a lot of inconvenience for its users. Therefore the local government has high interest in keeping this project on schedule.
By choosing the Drillguide GST, this drill was executed safely, efficiently and extremely precise and safe placement of the new natural gas pipeline is secured.