Tele-Vac completes trenchless CIPP installation beneath major highway for Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital.

Canton, Ohio — Tele-Vac Environmental, in partnership with HammerHead^® Trenchless, successfully installed a cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liner to rehabilitate a critical water line serving Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital. The project required trenchless installation beneath the southbound lanes of Interstate 77 in Canton, Ohio—an application where open-cut excavation would have been impractical and cost prohibitive.

The repair addressed 305 linear feet of a 30-ft deep, 8-inch diameter ductile iron water line encased in 16-in diameter steel. The City of Canton commissioned the work to eliminate an active leak while maintaining service reliability for the hospital and minimizing disruption to interstate traffic.

CIPP technology creates a structural pipe-within-a-pipe by inserting a resin-impregnated liner into the existing pipeline and curing it in place. The installation restores full structural integrity, seals joint leaks, and extends the service life of aging infrastructure. In this application, Tele-Vac used RS BlueLine^® CIPP by HammerHead, which provided a fully structural, NSF-61 certified system with a design life of at least 50 years.

“This was a technically challenging repair given the depth and location under a major interstate,” said Mike Moore, Director of Business Development, Tele-Vac. “HammerHead’s CIPP system allowed us to rehabilitate the line with precision, avoiding excavation while ensuring hydraulic performance was maintained for Mercy Hospital’s critical water supply.”

The trenchless installation method eliminated the need for traffic disruption on I-77 and reduced the construction footprint to two access points. Once inserted, the liner was cured using a controlled thermal process to achieve full polymerization and tight fit to the host pipe. The final CIPP composite exhibited enhanced tensile strength, reduced infiltration, and improved resistance to ground movement.

“From a municipal standpoint, the decision was straightforward,” said Dylan Peoples P.E., representing the City of Canton. “CIPP gave us the lowest lifecycle cost, the fastest construction schedule, and the least community impact compared to open-cut alternatives.”

“Our CIPP technology is designed for exactly these scenarios,” added Dave Kozman P.E., Senior Product Engineer at HammerHead Trenchless. “By combining engineered materials with proven installation and curing methods, we provide municipalities with a fully structural system that is backed by industry standard certifications and testing and performs like a new pipe without the disruption of replacement.”

The project was completed on schedule, demonstrating how CIPP enables municipalities to address deep infrastructure challenges beneath critical corridors—hospitals, highways, and utilities—where conventional excavation is not feasible.

About Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP)
CIPP is a trenchless rehabilitation method used for structurally repairing damaged pipelines without excavation. The process involves inserting a resin-saturated liner into the host pipe, expanding it under heat and pressure to conform to the pipe’s interior and curing it to form a hardened composite. CIPP creates a jointless, structurally independent pipe-within-a-pipe with minimal loss of cross-sectional area. Benefits include:

• Minimal disruption: No need to excavate roadways, rights-of-way, or sensitive facilities.
• Structural renewal: Restores pressure rating, eliminates infiltration/exfiltration, and extends pipe life by 50+ years.
• Cost efficiency: Reduced labor, equipment, and restoration costs versus traditional open-cut method.
• Speed of installation: Projects that would take weeks with excavation can be completed in days.

About Tele-Vac Environmental
Tele-Vac Environmental specializes in trenchless pipe rehabilitation, environmental services, and infrastructure renewal. With expertise in CIPP and advanced trenchless technologies, Tele-Vac delivers long-term solutions for municipalities and institutions with minimal surface disruption.

About HammerHead Trenchless 

HammerHead Trenchless, a division of The Toro Company, manufactures and delivers a unique combination of rehabilitation, replacement and installation equipment and consumables for the underground construction market. Besides being a full solutions provider in rehabilitation and replacement, HammerHead also offers unmatched field support and project consultation to its customers worldwide. HammerHead products are proudly made in the U.S.A. and sold and serviced in more than 60 countries. For more information visit www.hammerheadtrenchless.com; 920-648-4848