Bluestone to Sunoco Pipeline

Beaver & Butler Counties, PA

Provided engineering design services and project coordination for approximately 29 miles of an 8″ Ethane pipeline as part of a proposed pipe network. Responsibilities included pipeline and right-of-way design, project coordination with routing, land agents, environmental, archeological, and geotechnical sub-consultants, construction and surveying, and preparation of construction documents including major horizontal drilling designs for numerous interstate highway, road and railroad crossings, creeks and wetlands. Bowman coordinated the layout of the tap and related appurtenances as well as a future pump station at the Sunoco tap site. The project also involved major horizontal drillings across the Beaver River, I-376, I-70, and several railroads. The project also involved additional permitting requirements by South Beaver Township, which Bowman facilitated with consultants hired by the client. Additional challenges faced included inaccurate GIS property and parcel data. Bowman overcame this challenge by verifying the property information through a variety of sources including additional surveying and by creating a property mosaic. Challenges to this project include coordination of on-site pipeline routing of the Bluestone II Plant after construction had commenced. This routing consisted of three proposed and multiple future pipelines entering and exiting the plant at various locations with space limitations due to close proximity to environmental wetlands, landowner restrictions, and existing railroad tracks. Bowman overcame these limitations with the use of an innovative pipe bridging system for the railroad crossing and close coordination with the plant designer.