October 2025 Vol. 80 No. 10
Editor's Log
Underground Infrastructure unveils 2026 MVP and UI Awards finalists
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief
(UI) — As 2025 is rolling headfirst to a close, it’s that time when we’re looking at the endeavors, innovations and achievements of people, technology and equipment for the past year. It’s a time when we ask for industry help (i.e., nominations), corral various industry experts, and try to determine the best of the best.
Underground Infrastructure is proud to be an active participant in these awards programs that honor and praise accomplishments. The culmination of awards season comes at the annual Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC), where all the honorees will be formally recognized, or announced, and celebrations subsequently engaged.
Further, we’re excited to announce the launch of The Awards: MVP + UI Honors. This signifies the start of a powerful new tradition that unites the underground infrastructure community’s most respected recognition programs: the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award and Underground Infrastructure (UI) Awards. For the first time, these two prestigious programs will share the stage, creating an unforgettable luncheon event that celebrates leadership, innovation and projects shaping our future. The event is scheduled for noon, Jan. 27, at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio.
The Awards event is more than recognition. It is the convergence of tradition and innovation, where the industry gathers to celebrate the individuals and projects that push boundaries, solve complex challenges, and advance the essential infrastructure that supports communities across North America.
To that end, I’m proud to announce the winners and nominees for the 2026 Awards Season. The longest tenured honor is the Most Valuable Professional Award, celebrating its 30th anniversary. MVP is co-sponsored by the Underground Construction Technology Association and Underground Infrastructure magazine.
The MVP was first bestowed in 1996 to Art Kidder, City of Houston, who led the field work for what was then the largest rehabilitation program ever performed in the U.S. under an EPA Consent Decree ($1.2 billion over a five-year period beginning in 1992).
Now, 30 years later, the award will again go to an individual who has led his city’s efforts to achieve full compliance with a consent decree. Jeff Haby, senior vice president, production operations for San Antonio Water System, will be awarded the MVP at The Awards luncheon.
Also at The Awards luncheon, winners of the Underground Infrastructure Awards will be named. Finalists, by category, include:
- Emerging Technology — Revelation Technology, SonDance Solutions; Broadband IQ Geology Insights, VCTU; Vermeer BorePlan App, Vermeer; Utilizing LiDAR for Wet Well Condition Assessment, North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) and Freese and Nichols Inc.; Close Tolerance Pipe Slurrification – CTPS, Azuria Water Solutions; Kormee Nanodrill 3004, Ravan Supply.
- Asset Management Project of the Year — Buried Regulator Asset Program Development, Orbital Engineering Inc.; North Texas Municipal Water District Wastewater Condition Assessment Program, North Texas Municipal Water District.
- Sewer Project of the Year — Arkona Road 72 to 76-Inch Transition UV CIPP Culvert Rehabilitation, Pipeline Management Company and Precision Trenchless (divisions of PowerVac Group) & IMPREG; Trinity River Authority CRWS Junction Box 1020J Replacement and Improvement, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc.; Frontera Force Main Emergency Replacement, HARDROCK Infrastructure Services.
- Water Project of the Year — Sherman West 36-Inch HDPE Force Main HDD, Dakota Utility Contractors; Dallas Water Utilities Cedar Crest Water Line, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam; City of Tempe Rehabilitation of 30-Inch Water Main, CPM Pipelines; West Harris County Regional Water Authority - Segment B3, West Harris County Regional Water Authority; Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, S.J. Louis Construction.
- HDD Project of the Year — Freezer Underground Heating, Dakota Utility Contractors; James River Crossing Sewage Force Main Horizontal Directional Drill with Garney Construction, Dewberry, Huxted Trenchless, Brierley Associates; Port Arthur Pipeline Louisiana Connector Trenchless Project, Sempra Infrastructure; Gibsonton Septic to Sewer Conversion Force Main, Westlake Pipe & Fittings; Port of Corpus Line Replacement, HardRock Infrastructure Services; Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Atlas Trenchless.
- A special Fiber project award will also be honored.
HDD Hall of Fame at the Reunion
Formal recognition and awarding of the coveted HDD Hall of Fame awards will be included in a special ceremony during the renowned HDD Reunion celebration, held immediately after the Exhibit Hall closes Jan. 28, at the Convention Center.
The 2026 class represents contractors, a consulting engineer, and manufacturers: Don Riggs, Future Infrastructure; Frank McKinney, Sharewell and InRock; Russell Baker, Berco; Eric Skonberg, consulting engineer/former contractor; and John Teer, Sharewell.
Posthumous honors in this class go to: Mark Van Houwelingen, Vermeer; Robert Hamil, Laney Directional Drilling; and Thomas “Tom” Allen, Tom Allen Construction/American Fiber Comm.
For all participants in the HDD industry, old and new, the Reunion and Hall of Fame ceremony will be a time where history will be re-lived, tall tales shared, and visionaries revered throughout the day and evening activities.
We look forward to seeing you at UIC. To register for any/all of these incredible events, go to ui-conference.com or contact Karen Francis for more information:
Karen@undergroundinfrastructure.com, (713) 487-5676.
To become an exclusive event sponsor, contact Josh Allen, josh@undergroundinfrastructure.com, (832) 922-9018, or Peter Royall, peter.royall@gulfenergyinfo.com.
Comments