January 2012, Vol. 67 No. 1

Did you miss the show dailies at UCT 2012 in San Antonio? Catch them here, with their exclusive selection of pictures and reports on the events on the ground, from education to social, awards and exhibitions.

<em>Underground Construction</em> and <a href="http://pipelineandgasjournal.com/"><em>Pipeline & Gas Journal</em></a>’s worldwide pipeline survey figures indicate that 118,623 miles of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88,976 represent projects in the planning and design phase; 29,647 miles reflect pipelines in various stages of construction. Almost 32,000 miles of pipeline are currently being planned for North America.

Home warranty or home service plans are widely available today to help pay for repair or replacement costs when appliances and system components such as air conditioning and heating systems break down.

NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies) closed out a busy and eventful 2011 with several significant accomplishments and continuation of a formal strategic planning process that will guide the association in the coming years.

At its recent Integrity Educational Seminar, Mears Group Inc. personnel focused on the topic of establishing the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of a gas pipeline and the general concept of operating margin of safety.

Over the last week, I’ve had the pleasure of talking to some of Lester Luttrell’s close friends, family -- even a competitor or two. I received an ear-full of stories. Most of them were hilarious, some of them were serious, but all of them ended with something like: “that Lester, he was one hell of a man.”

The International Pipe Bursting Association (IPBA) has completed new guidelines for the pipe bursting process which will be introduced at the 2012 UCT Show (Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exposition), Jan. 24-26, in San Antonio, TX.

The West Side Interceptor sewer replacement project in Portland, ME, utilized a 60-inch diameter, high performance polypropylene pipe to increase conveyance capacity, replacing a smaller 100-year old vitrified clay line and separating a parallel 10-foot diameter combined sewer, which now solely conveys storm water.

TT Technologies will introduce a new pipe bursting model at the 2012 UCT Show (Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exposition) Jan. 24-26 in San Antonio, TX.

No matter where you live, underground utility installations get a lot more difficult when the ground freezes. However, the last several years have proven to be especially tough for Calgary contractors, ever since their traditional ground-thawing techniques of coal burning have been outlawed. In fact, the new rules have severely slowed most wintertime utility installations in the city, as contractors have struggled to find new ways to fight the frost.

For more than 12 years, HDD Broker Inc. has been bringing together sellers and buyers of used horizontal directional drilling (HDD) equipment.

Crawler tractors and pipelayer equipment from John Deere, Volvo, Pipeline Machinery Int’l., Liebherr, Case, Midwestern Manufacturing Company and Caterpillar. <strong>John Deere</strong>

Root control products from Vaporooter, Duke's Root Control, RootX <strong>Vaporooter</strong>

Aegion Corporation’s subsidiary, Insituform Technologies Inc., has been awarded a $5.6 million contract from the city of Crest Hill, IL. Insituform expects to install approximately 135,000 feet of small- to medium-diameter Insituform cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) in residential neighborhoods throughout Crest Hill, beginning in January 2012.

RJN Group Inc.’s (RJN) CASS WORKS software received NASSCO’s v6.0 Certification in Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (PACP), Manhole Assessment and Certification Program (MACP) and Lateral Assessment and Certification Program (LACP).

Grouting solutions from Avanti International, Logiball, Aries Industries, Prime Resins and CUES.

Krylon Industrial, the leading producer of industrial, commercial and MRO paints and coatings, has launched a new website designed specifically with the needs of its varied customer base in mind: KrylonIndustrial.com.

Vermeer Texas-Louisiana, a market leader in environmental and construction equipment with 11 locations across Texas and southern Louisiana, celebrated the grand opening of their newly relocated Cypress, TX, store with an open house on Nov. 10. This location replaces the two stores previously located in Humble on FM1960 West and Easthaven Boulevard on the south side of town.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest on-site and online industrial auctioneer, reached and exceeded $5 billion of online equipment sales in the fourth quarter of 2011. Ritchie Bros. hit this significant milestone on Oct. 6, at an unreserved public auction at its auction site in Hartford, CT. Ritchie Bros. introduced its real-time online bidding service in March 2002 as an enhancement of the live auction experience. The usage of the service has grown steadily, and in April 2010 the company introduced online bidding in six additional languages.

Advertisers from the print edition of <em>Underground Construction</em>, January 2012, Vol. 67 No. 1.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Those words have been used in books and movies to dramatic effect. But in the world of energy, they take on a similar – though substantially less violent – meaning.

In reading your excellent editorial on the above subject, it stirred my memory back to the 50s when I, as a young pipeliner, was in Alaska Territory, involved in the building of an eight-inch fuel line from Haines to Fairbanks.

The pipeline safety bill President Obama signed in December gives PHMSA new latitude to expand integrity management requirements and require new industry safety measures such as automatic or remote-controlled shut-off valves.

Low profile pipeline Road Crossings from Rain for Rent provide an excellent way to safely move water across busy streets, driveways, and highways without disrupting traffic or damaging roadways.

Quickly change attachments on most excavators, mini-excavators, wheel loaders and loader backhoes with Paladin’s JRB PowerLatch and Bradco Mini-Excavator Coupler.

The StormTech MC-4500 chamber is designed in accordance with AASHTO and ASTM design standards, making it a qualified choice for use in commercial and municipal projects to contain and control storm water runoff in an underground system.

The new DC Submersible Dewatering Pump is a totally enclosed, submersible dewatering unit.

The Magnalight MMLP-1MLED Temporary Manhole Mount Light Fixture provides operators in hazardous enclosed locations with a convenient and easily deployed explosion proof lighting solution.

Radiodetection’s proprietary Compass technology provides a visual indication of the direction of the target relative to the cable and pipe locator.

Repairing broken polyvinylchloride (PVC) conduit is no longer an arduous and time-consuming task with the new Carlon PVC Conduit Repair System from Thomas & Betts. The exclusive, patent-protected design allows contractors to maintain the inside diameter of the conduit, reducing repair time from 20 to less than two minutes.

For the dependable removal and transportation of hazardous and non-hazardous liquids, Super Products has expanded its product line offering with the addition of its new Durasucker, a DOT/ASME approved vehicle for use in industrial and environmental cleanups.

The new Cat Pipelayers (models PL83 and PL87) retain the basic design of their predecessors, while answering customer needs for increased lift capacity, enhanced slope capability, ease of operation, performance and transportability.

Weiler Tiger Disc abrasive flap discs are the recognized performance benchmark for flap discs on the pipeline.

ICON Equipment offers their ICON-O-Lite modular aluminum trench box system to municipalities and utility contractors and as an alternative to heavy steel trench boxes.

Aging water infrastructure will cost U.S. businesses $147 billion over the next decade, a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) found. America’s water and wastewater infrastructure systems are aging and overburdened, with many of them built around the turn of the century.

Larry William Libla, age 68, of Fisk, MO, died Nov. 30, 2011 at Barnes Jewish Hospital North in St. Louis, MO.

Bob Ayres, a long-time leader and key participant in the Plastic Pipe Institute for more than 50 years, passed away at the age of 78 on Nov. 24.

Ziff Energy released a report last summer analyzing the pipeline infrastructure costs on 120 new gas pipeline projects in the Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Barnett, Woodford, Fayetteville and Horn River shale gas regions over the past decade.

President Obama recently stated that he will make the decision on whether to approve or deny a presidential permit for the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline proposed by TransCanada, rather than delegating the decision to the State Department.

Officials from natural gas utilities representing operations in Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, North Dakota and Michigan, announced the launch of a new safety campaign to raise awareness around natural gas and sewer line cross bore issues, providing solutions to protect the public.

The Birmingham Water Works Board is distancing itself from Jefferson County’s financial woes following a filing on Nov. 9 of the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history, according to an article in The Birmingham News.