Steinaker Service Canal gets ‘largest ever’ diameter HDPE pipe installation in the U.S.

Two Rokbak RA30s are working on the ‘largest ever’ pipe installation project in the U.S., located in Utah

Utah-based contractor BHI won the contract to enclose a 78” High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe across a vast portion of the Steinaker Service Canal – said to be the ‘largest ever’ pipe installation in the U.S.

Extensive excavation and backfill is required to complete the contract on a three-mile stretch of canal essential to the irrigation.

The existing channel is being converted into a pressurized pipeline to provide a firm water supply, with the aim to minimize and even eliminate loss of water through seepage and evaporation, maximizing the amount of water available for irrigation purposes.

Upon completion, the canal enclosure will be the largest-diameter HDPE pipe installation in the U.S.

BHI is self-performing the project, which includes site preparations, excavation, pipe installation, backfill and restoration of the canal. To handle the large-scale earth-moving, BHI needed articulated haulers that would be up to the challenge in an intense six-month timeline.

Rokbak dealer Rasmussen Equipment, of Salt Lake City, supplied two RA30s to BHI on a rental-purchase option in September 2022. The haulers were received so positively on site that the purchase was completed before the end of the year.

The RA30s are tasked with transporting rock and rubble to excavate the area in order to install the pipe, later they will support with the subsequent backfill. The equipment has a capacity to transport a payload of up to 30.9t, a maximum engine power of 370 hp, a heaped capacity of 22.9yd3, and a maximum torque of 1880Nm @ 1400rpm.

“The RA30 is a top-performing machine,” says BHI operator Reese Shultz, who has already clocked up over 2,000 hours alongside colleague Dustin Gardner in the two RA30s since work began in September.

“It’s fuel efficient, powerful and with features like the tailgate helping to maximize load retainage as well as multiple reverse gears enabling quick cycle times, it’s been designed for productivity. It also has excellent mobility, it’s relatively narrow, which is hugely beneficial in confined job site spaces.”

The Steinaker Service Canal Enclosure Project is due to run until April 2023.