Starting in 2014 and running into early 2015, APC Corporation worked at Brayton Point, a coal-fired power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts. The plant was building two 500-foot-tall cooling towers. Over the course of the project, APC dug close to 300 holes for various fence posts, light poles, ballads and foundation footings, using the company’s GapVax hydroexcavators. The company has a fleet of 11 vacuum trucks that can do wet or dry vacuum excavation. The trucks are capable of 28 inches Hg vacuum at 5,300 cfm, 2,500 psi and 5 gpm of hot or cold water. A 185 cfm air compressor is built into the truck. The holes that were dug were just 30 inches wide and 18 feet deep, requiring the use of the vacuum excavators. APC’s vacuum excavators use air compressors instead of water pressure, allowing the company to maintain the integrity of the soil, which keeps the hole from caving in. APC crews were met with underground water, gas and electric lines while digging the holes and also had to contend with overhead high-voltage wires on the job site. Read more on this job at www.digdifferent.com/featured.
Continue reading for free
