When Graniterock was doing foundation work at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, it encountered an existing 12” storm drain that would need to be addressed. The culvert ran through the proposed site of the next phase of terminal development, and initial thoughts were to use traditional methods of excavation and demolition.

After further analysis, the Graniterock team decided to leave in place and instead fill the storm drain with Conco’s ConFoam™ product. The reason for the change was:

1. Close proximity to an active runway. Excavation and demolition would have been disruptive to airport operations. ConFoam™ allowed for the work to be performed without the need to bring out equipment that might impact airport activity.
2. Ease of removal of material if needed. The area of the storm drain is marked for future development and would most likely need to be dug up at a later date. ConFoam™ is easily excavatable.
3. 100% compaction. ConFoam™ can be pumped long distances (over 2000 feet) and achieve 100% compaction, filling all voids and eliminating the potential for subgrade failure in the future.
4. Time to complete the task. The process to complete the task took less than 4 hours from the time the equipment arrived on site until the time the clean-up was completed, which reduced any disruption and saved time on an already tight schedule.
5. Cost to complete the task. Very little equipment or labor was required using ConFoam™, saving Graniterock money on the project.

“ConFoam™ was the perfect solution for this job. It performed as advertised and allowed us to save both time and money on our work. I would definitely use it again on future projects”; stated Jim Mitchell, Project Manager for Graniterock.

ConFoam™ has been used to fill a wide variety of abandoned pipelines including drainage pipes, sewer lines and old fuel lines. Should you have a project where filling a pipe is in the scope of work, call Wiatt Chase at (925) 348-4369 for information on using ConFoam™.