Nick et al, Oh... Thanks for the heads-up...
We're getting Cu, regardless, mainly because of lead-time and it IS what we quoted in the bid. Better not change things when involving the feds.
We're only averaging about 5 ft per hour (finished, closed in pipe with pull rope) due mainly to the compaction requirements and surface dressing.
Plus all the surprises... we've hit two pipes, one water line was trickling and a compression sleeve did the trick. That line will be replaced next fall, so not much worry on the longevity of the patch. We also hit an old line repair (new PVC) that scared the crap out of us, but that line was abandoned we found out after exhausting research.
We have to maintain a distance between existing sewage and water lines and we're doing pretty well to stay right on top of the old primary. Which, BTW, is absolutely aluminum... Old stuff with an exposed neutral conductor wrapped around the insulation of the center conductor (#2 Al). No wonder it went bad.
The primary side cable in the pic is new stuff spliced onto the old somewhere just before utility pen. I'ts nice to have a load break to disect and analyze before I try to do this...
Any more pointers?
[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 06-25-2005).]