Line Strike at Roadside Valve Station Prompts Emergency OmegaWrap® EG Composite Repair
Written by Allan Edwards
As most pipelines are located underground, third-party damage typically results from line strikes by excavation equipment during foreign line crossings or routine digs. However, one operator had to quickly deal with the consequences when an inattentive driver struck an above-ground pipeline in a valve station in Louisiana.
A Critical Station Left Vulnerable
The 8-inch pipeline existed as part of a network of above-ground pipe within an unmanned valve station in Port Allen, Louisiana. When a passing driver lost control of their vehicle and veered off the roadway, the car penetrated the perimeter fence that surrounded the station, striking the pipeline. The line sustained a .160” deep dent that spanned two inches wide and four inches long. It required an emergency repair to provide the necessary reinforcement to avoid a costly shutdown – meaning the operator needed to find an effective repair solution with a fast turnaround time.
Allan Edwards Receives the Call
Immediately after the line strike incident occurred on Thursday evening, the operator reached out to Allan Edwards to request whether the OmegaWrap EG (e-glass) wet layup composite system could be used to reinforce the dented line. Josh Wilson, Technical Sales Manager at Allan Edwards, immediately set to work that evening and modeled a schematic of the repair zone. The OmegaWrap repair calculator determined the number of wraps required to adequately reinforce the repair, and Allan Edwards quickly provided a quote to the customer the next morning.
An Impressive Turnaround Time
Once approved, all repair details were sent to an Allan Edwards repair technician already on site in the Port Allen, Louisiana area. This technician possessed an on-hand stock of the OmegaWrap EG system, eliminating the need to coordinate shipping to the repair site. The technician promptly set out for the valve station, arriving with the necessary repair equipment early Friday afternoon. The Allan Edwards technician supervised the installation of the composite wrap by a certified crew, and the job was finished within a couple of hours.
