75th Anniversary
- 2000
- 2010
- 2020
Level 3’s North American long-haul telecommunications network completed.
Alliance Pipeline was completed.
Rehab Zone was launched at UCT.
NASSCO conducts first Pipeline Assessment Certification Program classes.
Water agencies in the San Francisco Bay area gear up for 12-year, $3.6-billion overhaul.
Robotic cutter, powered by high-pressure water rather than the traditional pneumatic tool, introduced.
Fully hydraulic bucket trencher introduced, first significant design change since the original model.
Congress creates the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, announced its entry into the national telephone market.
Manassas, Va., became the first U.S. city to make broadband over power lines (BPL) technology available on a city-wide basis.
Popular internet business, Ebay, started including underground utility construction equipment.
First Waterworks conference was held in conjunction with UCT.
8-1-1- was fully implemented, branded under CGA’s “Call Before you Dig.”
HDD Contractor’s Roundtable & Summit, an industry first, was introduced at UCT
Documentary on the nation’s deteriorating water infrastructure aired on national television.
Oildom Publishing (parent of Underground Construction) celebrated 100 years.
EPA’s Interim Tier 4 emission standards for off-road equipment powered by diesel engines.
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act provided funding of $1.96 billion for rural water and environmental project loans and grants.
CIPP products advanced into pressure pipe applications.
Flint, Mich., suffered its water crisis; resolution continues today.
“NASSCO Standard Bearers” began a series in Underground Construction, exploring the history of the association through the eyes of industry leaders.
Telematics technology was introduced into underground utility equipment.
Upon retirement of Oliver Klinger, III, Oildom Publishing, owner of Underground Construction, was acquired by Gulf Publishing Company, which changed its name to Gulf Energy Information in 2018.
Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 provided near-term federal support.
Toro acquired Charles Machine Works.
In its 25th year, UCT celebrated HDD’s 60 years with a Reunion and inducting the first honorees into the HDD Hall of Fame.
Louisiana pledges to spend $180 million over three years on grants to telecommunication firms that construct broadband internet infrastructure in underserved communities.
UtiliTech Conference, focused on the natural gas utility industry, debuts at UCT.
UCT features the 50th anniversary of CIPP, with a special education track and “Pioneers of CIPP” reception and awards ceremony.
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief From its humble beginnings as a monthly newsletter for pipeline construction to the primary news and information source for all sectors of the underground infrastructure market, for 75 years Underground Construction magazine has been a consistent and constant fo..
Hunting Trenchless THEN Founded in 1972 by Calvin and Huey Olivier, as Iberia Machine Shop, located in the heart of New Iberia, La., and specialized in machining oilfield accessories. A few years later, the Olivier’s ..
Change was the theme of the 1990s, not only in terms of ups, downs and surprises, but diversification as well. Oil pipelines were taking a back seat to the boom in underground utility installation from gas distribution, sewer/water and cable involved in both new construction and rehabilitation. Te..
The ‘80s picked up where the 1970s ended: an urgent nation impatiently waiting for more oil and gas to quench its rapacious energy thirst, at the lowest possible prices. The boom was on, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, and thousands of speculators made ill-advised decisions to invest in the indust..
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing series outlining the past several decades of underground infrastructure construction and rehabilitation as seen through the lens of Underground Construction magazine which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021. This month, we review highlights ..
The boom of the 1950s carried over into the next decade, but not entirely or evenly. While hitting peaks in some months, crude oil pipeline construction in the U.S. totaled 7,332 miles by decade-end – slightly more than half of the 13,756 miles during the 1950s and about equal to the 1940s’ 7,103 ..
1951 International Harvester (Chicago) and Superior Equipment (Bucyrus, Ohio) used pipebooms to slide 800-foot sections of 22-inch pipe on project bringing Canadian oil to market through the swamps of Minnesota 1952 With the shortage of steel pipe, due to a high volume of projects, exacerba..
Underground Construction’s first incarnation as the “Pipeliner” continued with booming growth throughout its first full decade of publishing – the 1950s. By the end of the decade, the magazine had broadened its coverage of underground infrastructure and was renamed Pipeline Construction and Oliver K..
In 1946, Ellis Dunn and Red Collier of Dunn Brothers Pipeline Stringing, in Dallas, made the bold decision to transition their employee newsletter, Bullplug, into a full-scale, external magazine. First published in November 1946, Pipeliner focused on pipeline construction, which was evolving into a ..
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief After 75 years, Underground Construction has experienced its fair share of history through our constant industry involvement and countless close market partnerships. We’ve seen the best of times and the worst of times and covered it in detail throughout the maga..
Hunting Trenchless THEN Founded in 1972 by Calvin and Huey Olivier, as Iberia Machine Shop, located in the heart of New Iberia, La., and specialized in machining oilfield accessories. A few years later, the Olivier’s ..
Avanti International THEN In 1978, Avanti International was established in Webster, Texas (near Houston). David Magill, a trenchless industry pioneer, was hired as its first employee and the company’s first president...
BLD Services LLC THEN Incorporated in 2001 by Brad L. Dutruch as a full-service municipal and public works construction company in Kenner, La. Initially installed lateral CIPP technology in the Southeastern U.S., incl..
Doosan Infracore North America, LLC THEN Founded in 1896, with a long legacy in infrastructure support. History in equipment manufacturing began in 1937 as Chosun Machine Works, Korea’s first large-scale machinery fac..
Charge THEN Founded 2006, in Benicia, Calif., as Accu-Bore, by Billy Kilmer, Jr.; in 2009, Mike Robirds, P.E. joined as an owner. Initially performed horizontal directional drilling throughout California for public an..
THEN Formed in 1981 by Frank Odill, an engineer working at concrete pipe and manhole producer Waukesha (Wisc.) Concrete Products.First product was the Internal Manhole Chimney Seal, followed by an external version about two years later, for use on manhole rehabilitation projects.Seals were develo..
- Tunnel boring machine ‘Clack-A-Mole’ nears one-third completion in Oregon outfall project
- Explosion in underground PG&E vault leaves one dead in Richmond, Calif.
- Tennessee pipeline gets initial FERC approval despite environmental concerns
- Sinkhole in Texas town accrues over $800,000 in sewer rehabilitation costs
- Water and Sewer Damage Awareness Week highlights infrastructure challenges
- Wisconsin proposes new PFAS drinking water standards to align with federal rules
- Elgin, Ill., joins EPA drinking water initiative to accelerate lead pipe replacement
- GasTracker Accurately Locates Plastic Gas Pipes
- Union County, Ga., breaks ground on $20.5 million fiber broadband expansion project
- TDEC unveils $191.2 million water infrastructure investment across Tennessee