The process pulls a bursting head through the host pipe from small entry and exit pits using a winch or hydraulic puller; the head's leading section fractures the old pipe and displaces the fragments outward into the surrounding soil as the new pipe is drawn in behind it. Water main replacement using this method is governed by AWWA C622, with acceptance testing typically referencing ASTM standards for the new pipe itself. Unlike CIPP, which lines and rehabilitates an existing pipe, pipe bursting is a full replacement method — most municipal specs and permitting processes treat it as new pipe installation, not a repair — and it's often the preferred option when the host pipe is too deteriorated to line, or when the project needs more capacity than the existing pipe provides. Host pipe diameter, replacement pipe size, and material call-outs drive both the cost and equipment selection on a pipe bursting bid — the exact scope detail Nonlinear extracts from drawings and specs during quantity takeoff, rather than requiring a manual sheet-by-sheet review.
Knowledge Base
What is pipe bursting?
Pipe bursting is a trenchless replacement method that fractures an existing pipe outward while simultaneously pulling a new pipe — usually HDPE — into its place, replacing (and sometimes upsizing) a failing line without open-cut excavation along its length.
