January 2024 Vol. 79 No. 1
Editor's Log
What has happened to the human condition? As AI assumes a larger role in our society, Editor-in-Chief Robert Carpenter sees human interaction continuing to become detached and remote. On the bright side, in the underground infrastructure industry, people still have to ultimately – and then actively – work together.
Features
West of Houston, the region’s petrochemical infrastructure creates a tangled maze of pipelines, roads, swamps and endangered ecosystems. Performing HDD operations here would challenge any contractor. Add a crossing under the Intercoastal Waterway to the mix – arguably the busiest commercial shipping channel in the United States – and you have a job that is not for the faint of heart.
Swerdfeger, the outgoing president of the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA), had the chance to grow up in the family business, working closely with his father. As a second-generation president following in his father's footsteps, Swerdfeger sat down with Underground Infrastructure for an exclusive interview. The discussion covered the accomplishments and directions of the DCA in 2023.
Established in 1984, at the University of Houston, the Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) is dedicated to fostering improved understanding of grouting materials and their applications.
Price increases to address products, fuel and labor have impacted total budgets for projects and, thus, the amount of infrastructure that can be installed. Despite the challenge, there is an equilibrium at the end of the track.
Electric Conduit Construction (ECC) recently completed a project in Alsip, Ill., which included running fiber optic cable 1.74 miles under roads, highways, canal and railroad track. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology was used because the right-of-way was laced with existing utilities of all types, including fiber, power, gas, water, sewer and cables.
There are many occupations that require the safe performance of work when confined space is involved, including sewer structure rehabilitation, manhole entry and infrastructure inspection processes. Any incidents during confined space entry are of particular concern to health and safety, due to the hazards they pose to the potential victim and the attendant and rescue team. Understanding these hidden dangers are vital to a safe work site.
Newsline
California OKs new rules for turning wastewater into drinking water; CGA’s DIRT report correlates infrastructure investment with increased excavation damage; EIA forecasts 20 Bcf/d boost for U.S. LNG export terminals with new pipelines and more in UI's January Newsline!
Business News
Tech Tips
When developing a QA/QC program for a CIPP project, a good place to start is NASSCO’s Performance Specification Guideline (PSG) Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) Installation. The PSG is developed with expertise from a wide range of industry experts and in addition to detailing specific terminology guidance also provides additional context notes within text boxes, when necessary, allowing the user to better understand the background behind the guidance.
- PHMSA warns of heat risks in aging plastic gas distribution pipelines following deadly Pennsylvania explosion
- OSHA seeks $1.2 million fine after fatal trench collapse in Connecticut
- Phase 1 Alaska LNG pipeline advances with construction awards, pipe supply agreements
- OSHA issues 16 citations following fatal sewer confined space incident
- Gateway Tunnel construction faces shutdown next week as Trump withholds federal funding
- T-Mobile to expand fiber broadband infrastructure footprint with $4.9 billion Metronet acquisition
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- Construction jobs stumble into 2026 after weak year
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
- Cityside launches $100 million fiber build in Corona, Calif.