Lleida premieres a pioneering technique in Spain to renew its supply network without opening trenches. The Paeria and Aqualia have begun the replacement of the main pipe on Rovira Roure avenue using a system that avoids the usual traffic disruptions.
The intervention focuses on a six-hundred-meter stretch between Periodista Trapa street and the Ronda. This action avoids six months of traditional works by eliminating the need to excavate the road surface throughout the process.
A Kevlar hose revitalizes a seventy-year-old pipeline
The method consists of introducing a flexible polyethylene hose reinforced with three layers of Kevlar into the old conduit. This original infrastructure is seven decades old and the new layer will act as an external structural reinforcement.
"The hose is inserted into the pipe, then it is inflated with pressure and it stays stuck, furthermore, polyethylene is a better material than the current one and has a durability of 70 years" - Aqualia Sources
This is the first time this technology is being applied in the State for a length and diameter of five hundred millimeters. The chosen material surpasses the existing one in performance and guarantees the tightness of the network for the coming decades.
The calendar foresees finishing the works before the end of the month
Municipal and concessionaire sources highlighted that the chosen methodology minimizes neighborhood disturbances. The absence of massive excavations allows for the maintenance of vehicular traffic on one of the busiest access roads in the city.
"We hardly generate any impact on citizens because the works do not involve traffic diversions" - Municipal and Aqualia sources
The execution plan marks very concrete steps for the coming weeks. The installation of the hose is carried out between yesterday and today, while the pressure tests are scheduled for tomorrow.
The installation of the valves is scheduled from the 12th to the 20th of the month. Subsequently, the repaving will occupy the days from the 20th to the 28th. The total cost of the action amounts to 467,124.32 euros.