Created by the Nebraska legislature in 1913, the Metropolitan Utilities District's (MUD's) mission is to provide safe drinking water and natural gas to customers of the Omaha metropolitan area at a cost consistent with sound management practices. In 2008, MUD began a formal Infrastructure Replacement Program to replace over 1200 miles of cast iron water mains over the coming decades. An objective of this program is to renew (or replace) infrastructure using trenchless technologies to achieve lower costs, shorter installation times and reduced social costs. Convinced that cured-in-place pipe technology offered an attractive alternative to traditional open-cut replacement, MUD decided to renew several water mains in Omaha's Old Market District. This historic downtown area welcomes more visitors to Nebraska each year than any other attraction in the state. Needless to say, the resulting economic activity is vital to Omaha and the businesses in the area. In the fall of 2009, MUD renewed over 2500 feet of 10-inch and 12-inch diameter cast iron, lead joint water mains in the Old Market. The project impacted water mains installed in 1895 as well as small and large service connections, fire lines, valves and hydrants. MUD selected the Old Market for its first renewal project to minimize impacts to brick and cobblestone streets and granite and sandstone curbs. Traditional open-cut main replacement would have significantly impacted these historic and iconic Old Market features. This paper will focus and present important technical and social issues presented by the Old Market as well as solutions that MUD employed, construction highlights and lessons learned.
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