Force Main and Pump Station Memphis Regional Megasite

This project for the State of Tennessee provides offsite treated effluent conveyance for the new Ford BlueOval City electric vehicle facility located in rural West Tennessee. The project includes 37 miles of 18-inch and 20-inch HDPE and ductile iron effluent force main piping, and a 5.1 million gallon per day (MGD) wastewater pumping station. The pipeline follows highway and power line rights-of-way as it traverses portions of Haywood and Tipton County, passing through historic Covington, and terminating with an outfall into the Mississippi River near Randolph. The pipeline includes 175 air release valve vaults, 17 jack and bore road crossings, and 48 separate horizontal directional drills totaling 40,500 linear feet (LF).

The outfall into the Mississippi River was drilled from land out into the channel of the river where the pipe was pulled back from barges on the water. The pump station includes three 400-horsepower (hp) vertical turbine pumps, a concrete wet well, and an architectural building at grade.

The pipeline crosses through 30 environmentally sensitive areas, including wetlands and blue line streams. Each of these areas was directionally drilled to minimize impact to the environment. Easements and pipe availability dictated the sequence of the overall project schedule and work was scheduled to minimize crop loss in agricultural areas.

The project had an aggressive schedule to meet the needs of the new Ford BlueOval City megasite. Numerous crews worked on the project focusing on different phases of the pipeline construction such as clearing, unloading and staging pipe, fusing pipe, installing pipe, clean-up, testing, and trenchless crossings.

The project also involved coordination with many parties along the 37-mile alignment, including private property owners, several cities, multiple counties, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), multiple railroads, and other utility providers, including gas, power, telecommunications, and local water and sewer.

Garney exceeded the state’s disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) participation goal of 15% on this project with current participation at 28%.

The project is on pace to be an overall success, delivered on time and under budget.