Managing a Multitude of Large Diameter Alternative Pipeline Routes in an Urban Area

Pipeline route studies are vital to complex, large-diameter pipeline project planning. Route studies can be used to support project stakeholder engagement and decision-making, early permitting coordination, financing, final design, and construction. This paper presents a case study of a robust route study process that considered approximately 380 pipeline alternative routes and their associated characteristics in a simplified yet comprehensive manner. The pipeline is proposed to be a large-diameter water transmission main in a highly urbanized setting. Major project challenges included residential and business impacts, multiple stakeholders, utility conflicts, and potential soil and groundwater contamination. To properly address these project challenges, all reasonable alternative routes were developed and analyzed within the project study area. The pipeline, expected to be 81 inches in diameter, is proposed to transport potable water from the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Water Works Park Water Treatment Plant for approximately seven miles through Detroit to the Northeast Station. The pipeline route analysis incorporated both monetary and non-monetary costs criteria. Using the evaluation process and analysis results, decision-makers were able to easily understand the characteristics of the hundreds of alternative routes and gain confidence that all reasonable alternative routes were closely considered. The results of the analysis were presented in concise, visually appealing graphs that were easily interpreted by all project stakeholders. These processes facilitated the successful and defensible selection of the pipeline route for this important regional drinking water infrastructure project in southeastern Michigan.