March 2011, Vol. 66 No. 3

Mud mixing systems from Vermeer, TT Technologies, Ditch Witch, SiteTec, American Augers, Tri-flo Inc., Kem-Tron Technologies and Mud Technologies International.

Drilling fluid products from Baroid Industrial Drilling Products, M-I SWACO, CETCO, Wyo-Ben and Kem-Tron.

Downhole directional tools from Railhead, Sharewell, INROCK, Melfred Borzall, American Augers, Horizontal Technology, HammerHead, Vermeer, Ballantine and Ditch Witch.

Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam was recently elected to serve a three-year term as the new chairman of the International Society for Trenchless Technology (ISTT). Dr. Ariaratnam previously served as vice chairman of ISTT having been elected to the position in 2007.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is developing a mixed commercial, residential and leisure project on a low-lying island just 500 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi Island.

After three years on the road, the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exposition returned “home” to Houston and posted a 21 percent increased in attendance over the 2010 show.

The city of Sacramento, CA, has been working for several decades to replace approximately 63,000 linear feet of riveted steel water transmission mains that were installed between 1870 and 1950.

The RehabZone posted record attendance at the 2011 Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exposition (UCT) held Jan. 24-27 in Houston.

Growth in ground source heat pump systems hold promise for steady work and additional income. It’s a situation that all too many installation contractors throughout the country have likely experienced firsthand.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is in the midst of a multi-million dollar, multi-year capital improvement and replacement program that is expanding and rehabilitating the district’s entire wastewater collection and treatment system. It is the largest, most extensive improvement program in the history of the district.

Laredo, TX, founded more than 250 years ago, on what today is on the border of the United States and Mexico, has grown to a bustling city of more than 230,000 people with another 660,000 living just across the Rio Grande River in Laredo’s sister city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Trenchless rehabilitation of failing underground sewer infrastructure is covered extensively by the industry trade press and even consumer media, but the importance of deteriorated culverts beneath roads and highways typically receives less attention.

GSW Contracting has found a niche -- and in doing so, has uncovered what most would consider an unlikely approach for directional drilling through rock.

Vacmasters has introduced a new air vacuum excavation system which becomes the most powerful model in the Vacmasters product line. It also is the largest commercially available air vacuum system on the market, said Trevor Connolly, Vacmasters vice president of marketing.

Ditch Witch has introduced a new compact horizontal directional drilling model for making short trenchless installations of service lines and placing cable and small-diameter conduit under sidewalks, streets and other surface obstructions.

A sewage spill is a disaster that no city wants to experience, but as America’s wastewater infrastructure ages, these types of accidents will be occurring more frequently. The city of Carlsbad, CA, recently had the opportunity to test their preparedness for such a situation.

Stephen E. Sandherr, the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, issued the following statement in response to the President’s call for new infrastructure investments during the State of the Union address.

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) has locked horns with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) over the agency's advisory bulletin on pipeline safety.

The RIDGID KJ-3100 water jetter offers professional power and performance to clear blockages in 2- to 10-inch diameter drains with a full 3,000-psi working pressure, and a 5 1/2 gallons-per-minute flow.

Hyundai’s new 13,010-pound R60CR-9 compact radius excavator offers a cab with a fully adjustable seat, adjustable arm rests, large foot pedals, ergonomic joysticks pre-wired for auxiliary hydraulic functions and 360 degree visibility.

Doosan’s new mid-range size hydraulic excavators will now be equipped with roll-over protective structure (ROPS)-certified cabs.

Trace-Safe, a new water blocking tracer wire that lasts longer, costs less than traditional solid copper tracer wire, and provides enhanced protection to both workers and pipelines, is now available from NEPTCO Inc.

AlturnaMATS Inc. was the first company to manufacture polyethylene ground cover mats made from recycled materials and is the first to place a “Limited Lifetime Warranty” on their products.

The new 259B3 is a high-performance, highly maneuverable addition to the Cat Compact Track Loader (CTL) range.

McConnell Dowell Corp. Ltd. recently completed the Pringle Hill Pipejack, which forms part of the construction work on the Northern Pipeline Interconnector project being undertaken by the Northern Network Alliance (NNA) in South East Queensland, Australia.

Creative thinking and teamwork are what have earned students from across the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas and compete in the national finals of the AEM Construction Challenge presented by Volvo Construction Equipment taking place March 21-25 at the international CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction industries trade show.

As it often happens in urban areas where land is at a premium, the 4.5-acre site did not have enough space to fit in both a detention pond and parking lot. The engineers took the only possible option — designing an underground stormwater system. "If the engineers used an above-ground detention system, the site would have lost 22,000 sq. ft., which would have cost the owner about $166,000," said contractor Danny Clements at Danny Clements Builders. "Instead, an underground system is conveniently located under the parking lot, taking up no usable space."

The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking an administrative court order requiring Gerardi Sewer & Water Co., a Norridge, IL-based contractor, to provide a monthly report of its work locations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, permit unannounced jobsite audits by qualified independent consultants and annually train workers on cave-in protection for the next two years.

The U.S. State Department of Ecology has announced the list of 43 cities and counties in the state of Washington that will get a share of $23.4 million to plan, design and build stormwater retrofit and low-impact development facility projects.

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) is forming a new executive-level task force on pipeline safety.

Quantifying the economic value of green infrastructure's benefits is the key to helping municipalities adopt this innovative and cost-effective stormwater management approach, according to a new report by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and American Rivers.

In a report written by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it was revealed that federal analysts that they don’t believe it will be economical to build a major natural gas pipeline through Alaska to the Lower 48 states for at least the next 20 years.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it is withdrawing its proposed interpretation titled “Interpretation of OSHA’s Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise.”

The Charles Machine Works Inc. (CMW), recognized as an industry leader in the manufacture of underground construction equipment, has acquired 100 percent ownership of Radius Professional HDD Tools in Weatherford, TX. The announcement was made by CMW Chief Executive Officer Tiffany Sewell-Howard.

Laney Directional Drilling Co. (Laney), a leading provider of horizontal directional drilling services to the energy, telecommunications and infrastructure sectors, announced March 15 that Alan P. Snider, PE and David “Paul” Bearden, Jr. have joined the Laney team.

Advertisers from the print edition of <em>Underground Construction</em>, March 2011, Vol. 66 No. 3.

At the 2011 edition of the annual Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT) held in January, a different mentality and perspective was apparent among both the attendees and many of the exhibitors.