Abstract: Valve removal tool and method for removing older corporation valves/valves from pressurized lines such as water mains without depressurization. The removal tool is temporarily fastened to a saddle around the water main and includes a valve through which a tool may be inserted to grasp and unscrew the old valve and withdraw the old valve through the valve in the tool. The tool also allows placement of a plug in the opening in the water main left by the removal of the tool. Typically a cap is placed over the opening in the saddle to provide a final seal in the event the plug leaks or is somehow dislodged.