Paul Vadnais
Paul is the President of Vadnais Microtunneling, Drill Tech’s wholly owned subsidiary. He possesses over 40 years of experience, with an impressive record demonstrating his proficiency in both the construction and business side of the industry. Mr. Vadnais’ expertise includes projects consisting of civil, structural, and mechanical work with the primary emphasis on microtunnel projects and shaft construction, and other similar facilities.
Paul's Featured Projects
Harbour Island Force Main Replacement Design-Build GMP3 | Tampa, FL
This project consisted of designing, furnishing and installing a single reach of 3,156 LF of 78" OD Steel Casing by microtunneling method with the installation of 54" Pressure FRP carrier pipe for a new sewer force main. The microtunnel crossing was installed primarily in limestone and dense sands beneath the Ybor Turning Basin in North Tampa Bay. The entire tunnel alignment was approximately 55' below Tampa Bay requiring two secant pile shafts approximately 70' deep. The Jacking Shaft was 40' in diameter and the reception shaft was 20' in diameter.
Atoka Pipeline Raw Water Transmission Line Canadian River Crossing | Byng, OK
This project consisted of furnishing and microtunneling approximately 2,920 LF of 84" diameter Reinforced Concrete Jacking as a Casing and approximately 2,850 LF of 72" diameter Reinforced Concrete Jacking Pipe as a casing with installation of 72" and 60" welded steel carrier pipes for raw water transmission purposes. Two of the tunnels were installed beneath the Canadian River. The slopes on the microtunnel drives were all uphill at 8.5% & 7.3% and the entire tunnel alignment was below the groundwater table. This project also had two deep jacking shafts of 125 VF and four shallow reception shafts of approximately 18 VF. The two jacking shafts were constructed by a combination of 34' ID secant piles shaft up to 65 VF and 60 VF of liner plate to the bottom.
Anderson Dam Tunnel Project | Morgan Hill, CA
The project consisted of a single microtunneling drive with the installation of 372 LF of 100" outside diameter steel pipe. The MTBM was launched from inside of a 24' Horseshoe Tunnel installed by Drill Tech under the Anderson Dam approximately 1,600' inside and recovered in the Anderson Reservoir Lake. The tunnel alignment consisted of highly fractured and sheared serpentinite/mélange containing harder blocks of basalt and serpentinite containing naturally occurring asbestos.
Harvest Water – Franklin/Eschinger Distribution Pipeline Project | Morgan Hill, CA
This project consisted of two separate microtunnel drives using 78" OD Trinity Tri-Loc Spiral Welded Steel Casing and installing either 60" WSP at the Railroad Crossing or 66" WSP at the Stone Lake Creek Crossing. The microtunnel drive lengths are 181 LF and 344 LF.
Second Force Main under Interstate-75 | Venice, FL
This project consisted of two (2) separate microtunnel drives of approximately 215 LF each using 42" OD x 0.625" Trinity Tri-Loc Spiral Welded Bare Steel Casing as well as installing and grouting 24" DIP carrier pipe. Microtunnels were installed separately beneath the Northbound and Southbound lanes of I-75.
Pacific Gas & Electric R-130 L-132 Channel Crossing | Sunnyvale, CA
This project consisted of a single microtunnel drive totaling 250 LF of 24" OD sacrificial steel casing that was displaced with the permanent 24" gas pipeline. Shafts were approximately 35' depth. The tunnel was installed underneath Highway 101 in Sunnyvale, CA.
Davis Lane Lift Station and Norton East Outfall Sewer Project | Bozeman, MT
This project consists of a single drive of 696 LF of 64" x .75" wall Trinity Press Fit Steel Casing. The microtunnel was installed under two frontage roads, an active railroad, and six active lanes of Interstate 90. Ground conditions consisted of silty, sandy, gravel underneath the groundwater table with ground improvements planned for under the railroad.
Noble Gulch Trunkline Relocation Project | Capitola, CA
This project consisted of four microtunnel drives totaling 1,800 LF of 42” OD Permalok Steel Casing Pipe with 15" HDPE Carrier Pipe. Drive lengths varied from 240 LF to 820 LF. This project required shafts between 14' and 40' deep. Site conditions included extremely tight work areas within existing mobile home communities. One reach was beneath Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), a heavily trafficked scenic highway in Northern California.
