Features
Construction Theme Park Opens in Texas
The 3.5-acre park is located at Katy Mills Mall (west of Houston) with its main entrance facing Interstate 10. Dig World in Katy, Texas, was recently unveiled and is now open Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Spotlight: Manhole and Pipe Coatings
Spotlight: Manhole and Pipe Coatings
Moving PACP Data Between Systems
After many successful Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) inspection projects end, there is a large amount of collected data that some PACP-certified professionals, engineers and utility workers do not understand.
Pressure Pipe Cleaning and Preparation for Rehabilitation
Pressure pipes, like gravity pipelines, need to be cleaned and prepared for rehabilitation. This NASSCO Tech Tip will discuss pressure pipe cleaning methods and requirements before a pipe rehabilitation is completed.
Annual UCT ShowStopper Awards Feature Innovative Exhibits
Exhibitors at trade shows compete with hundreds of other exhibitors to capture attendees’ interest in their booths and the specific products and services being promoted.
RehabZone
As always, the 2022 edition of RehabZone was a vital part of 2022 Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT) held this past January in in Ft. Worth, Texas,
UCT 2022 Hosts Flood of Re-Engaging Attendees
After battling through more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the underground infrastructure industry took another significant step towards normality in January as a strong crowd of interested attendees packed educational sessions and the exhibit hall at the annual Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition.
Industry study takes hard look at 811 process, facility locating
At a time when excavation construction is at an all-time high, and much more is on the horizon after landmark infrastructure legislation enacted in 2021, protecting underground infrastructure during excavation activity is more important than ever.
Modern mud systems bring large benefits to big HDD jobs
In today’s environment of strict environmental regulations, rising costs and intense competition for horizontal directional drilling (HDD) jobs, mud reclaimer systems have become an indispensable companion to large-diameter HDD rigs.
Utility & communications construction update
The pandemic exposed the frailty that exists in current supply chains and the war in Ukraine has placed those concerns into overdrive.
Rehab Technology: 5 Questions to Help Municipalities Choose the Right Utility Inspection Equipment
By Patrick Iyonsi, utility inspection product manager, Subsite Out of sight, out of mind. This is the general population’s stance towards the 2 million miles of underground pipe in the United States and even more around the world. And rightfully so. As a service provided and supported by municipa..
Convention Preview: NASSCO Thrives in Virtual World; ‘Live’ Annual Convention in Scottsdale
By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor In spite of the COVID-19 epidemic, NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies) stayed true to its mission of setting standards for the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure, and assuring the continued acceptance and grow..
HDD: Mud Systems
American Augers americanaugers.com, (800) 324-4930 The new M300DH fluid cleaning system helps contractors working in tight job sites stay agile and efficient. Its high-cleaning power circulates drilling fluids with 100,000-to-240,000 pounds of pullback and a 480-volt generator enables agitatio..
Directional Drilling: Muddy Waters: 3 Ways Fluid Cleaning Systems Can Improve Job-Site Success
By Richard Levings, American Augers Project Manager & Ben Clark, Derrick Corp. Civil Global Manager As demand for underground construction projects continues to increase, getting the most from your equipment is vital to job-site success. For HDD operators, drilling fluid plays a crucial role in eff..
Convention Preview: APCA Plans Scottsdale Convention to Tackle Important Business
Working in a rapidly evolving industry and facing serious challenges from a variety of sources, American Pipeline Contractors Association members are traveling to sunny Scottsdale, Ariz., March 25–30, for the 2022 APCA Convention. The meeting features an outstanding slate of speakers, important educ..
First Look: Tesmec Offers All-Inclusive Truck Approach to Conventional Fiber Microtrenching
By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor A variety of construction methods can be used to install fiber optic cable to expand broadband networks. While horizontal direction drilling (HDD) receives most of the trade press coverage abo..
McLaughlin Achieves 100 Years of Equipment Innovation, Service
McLaughlin, a Vermeer Brand, was founded in 1921 and has proudly marked a century providing workable solutions for the construction, utility and trenchless industries. Today, the brand continues to innovate and expand the capabilities of auger boring equipment for customers worldwide. ..
Inside Infrastructure: Ambitious Climate Goals Will Require Natural Gas, Pipeline Infrastructure
EDITOR’S NOTE Eben Wyman is a veteran advocate for key underground utility and pipeline associations. He points out that maintaining an effective advocacy program is fundamental to the success of any organization interested in the happenings of the federal government. Zack Perconti is an associat..
PCCA Focuses on Building Infrastructure Best
By Michael Ancell, PCCA Another very busy year in power and broadband construction, 2021 found Power & Communication Contractor Association (PCCA) members working diligently to keep Americans reliably connected, while also working in Washington, D.C., and around the country to ensure that this crit..
Irrigation Project Introduces HDPE to Montana’s Glacier Park Lodge
By Sara Kleinecke There is a rich history etched in Montana’s Rocky Mountains and surrounding areas, a bygone era that marked the beginning of The Great Northern Railway and its creation of lodges nestled among one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Glacier National Park. Even today, visitors s..
Washington 2022: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
By Stephen Barlas, Washington D.C. Editor The Biden administration has a schizophrenic attitude towards underground construction. On one hand, it proposed – and Congress agreed to – a $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill. Signed by the president on Nov. 15, 2021, it will pump out huge sums for sewer..
Rare Funding Bonanza Stimulates Much-Needed Muni Projects
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief It’s been 25 years since Underground Construction initiated detailed research into the spending plans of America’s cities and government agencies, with the annual Municipal Sewer and Water Infrastructure Forecast & Analysis Survey. As the industry enters 2022, a..
CIGMAT Report
The University of Houston’s Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) is an integrated, inter-disciplinary, university-industry consortium dedicated to research that fosters understanding of grout, and competing and complementary, materials and technologies used in constructin..
Florida Waters, Tennessee Dams Led 2021 MVP Kurz to Unlikely Career
By Jeff Awalt, Executive Editor There are some people who seem to know exactly where their future and their career will take them from the earliest age. And that certainly seemed to be the case with George Kurz, who was named 2021 Most Valuable Professional of the sewer/water industry by the Underg..
PLCA Pushes Through Challenges
By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor As members of the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) prepare for their annual convention, they continue to be affected by the Covid epidemic and face major challenges on many fronts, said PLCA President Dwayne Osadchuk. ..
DCA Returns to Convention Form in Recovery Year
By Jeff Awalt, Executive Editor In years past, the Distribution Contractors Association’s (DCA) annual conventions have been predictably grand events, with large crowds and noteworthy speakers in destination resorts. The up..
Factors Driving Bull Fiber Market
By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor The number of homes in the United States that connect to the internet with fiber optic cable is increasing and 5G is an important development. But many may be surprised what the FTTH (fiber to the home) growth data shows. ..
2022 Energy Pipeline Construction Outlook
By Jeff Awalt, Executive Editor Oil and natural gas prices climbed higher in 2021, prompting increased drilling and production among mostly independent producers in global regions, but a host of political and COVID-related economic concerns kept markets on edge and highly reactive for much of the y..
2022 Utility & Communications Construction Outlook, Update
By Daniel Shumate, Managing Director of FMI Capital Advisors Inc. Uncertainty felt like the only certainty over the past year as the industry performed quite well despite labor, material, COVID delta variant and regulatory challenges that were on the minds of every contractor. With the passage of t..
Solar HDDP: Drilling Contractor Expands into Renewable Energy
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), more than one-fifth of the nation’s domestically produced energy comes from Texas. The state has a long history of producing crude oil and natural gas, but more recently, the state’s energy production is rapidly expanding into renewables..
- 290-mile gas pipeline expansion proposed across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
- $227 million Garnet Valley water project advances, set to create 73,000 jobs in Nevada
- Construction underway for $1.4 billion, 60-mile water pipeline in Chicago
- HDD industry faces challenges as cities push back on fiber drilling disruptions
- Worker dies after trench collapse at sewer project site in Norwich, Conn.
- Gehl and Mustang offer world’s largest skid loader
- Growing Pains and Gains
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish
- $227 million Garnet Valley water project advances, set to create 73,000 jobs in Nevada