Page 14 • March 13, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Pa. Contractor Deftly Leads Sewer Main Break Repairs By Sondra Rossi CEG EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Most people don’t give a second thought to what happens after they flush the toilet or run the garbage disposal. But most people aren’t Ed Krasavage, who makes his living installing and repairing the septic and sewage pipes that keep our sanitation systems up and running. So when a sewer main in the northeastern Pennsylvania township of Hanover broke and started spewing sewage into Solomons Creek and subsequently the Susquehanna River, the township contacted Krasavage, the owner/operator of the self-named construction company Ed Krasavage Construction Inc., to do emergency repairs. The replacement of the pipe was on the schedule to be put out for bid, but when the pipe ruptured several agencies quickly gave their blessings on the emergency repairs so that the permitting process could be streamlined, stopping the flow of sewage into the creek. The sewer main broke as the pipe runs along Solomons Creek. The area near the pipe, including the protective wall that surrounds it was initially damaged by erosion and flooding that came with Hurricane Lee several years ago. The damaged pipe was 27-in. (65.8 cm). The section of pipe and retaining wall that needed replacing is 106 ft. (32 m) long, located in an area that was overgrown and inaccesEd Krasavage Construction Inc. employees work to encapsulate the replacement pipe with rebar and then pour sible to heavy equipment. a concrete protective wall enclosing the entire pipe. “Initially our biggest concern was to stop the flow of sewage into the creek,” said Krasavage. “Our first call was to Dave Groner with Godwin Pumps. We put a call out to him at 5:30 on a Sunday and by 10:30 they were on the scene working with us to pump the sewage through a bypass system around the creek about 1,000 feet to an exit area.” Krasavage also arranged the construction of an access road to make the repair area accessible to his men and their fleet of construction equipment. After the old sewage pipe and the remnants of the old retaining wall were removed a large volume of rip rap was brought in to re-establish and reinforce the banks along Solomons Creek. The newly laid ductile iron pipe was encased in rebar and then surrounded Ed Krasavage (L), president of Ed Krasavage Construction Inc., dis- This manhole marks the spot where the old sewage cusses equipment strategies with Bill Vinsko of Medico Industries.
pipe failed and started spewing sewage into Solomons Creek.
with a concrete encasement. To protect the pipe and its concrete shell from future natural disasters a 5 ft. (1.5 m) wide, 3-ft. (.9 m) high footer was constructed above and beside the pipe, between the pipe and the creek. From start to finish the project took four weeks.
lb. Indeco hammer, which was used to break up the old retaining wall; a Case 621EXT loader with a side dump bucket and tool carrier used for loading and unloading aggregate materials, and for moving necessary supplies such as pipe; a brand new Takeuchi TB285; a Case 850 crawler; and Atlas Copco generator; and an Efficiency trench box. The business relationship between Ed Krasavage Construction and Medico Industries started nearly 20 years ago when Krasavage stopped by Medico’s Wilkes-Barre, Pa., facility to purchase a tamper for his excavator. When it was all said and done, as a result of that visit, he purchased $250,000 worth of construction equipment, including a Case 621 loader and his Case 9020B excavator with a plate tamper and a hammer.
Medico Industries Provides Key Equipment Working at the site itself were multiple pieces of equipment purchased This access road was one of the first things that needed to be created in from Medico Industries: a Case CX210 order to start the repair work. excavator; a Case 9020B with a 4,000-
see KRASAVAGE page 102