October 2015 Vol. 70 No. 10

Total-solution HammerHead®/RS Lining Systems collaboration keeps pace with rapidly evolving noninvasive techniques Today’s pipe repair specialists can take a lesson from Maslow’s “law of the hammer,” revising it slightly to make a similar point: “To the contractor with a sledge, every bid includes ..

Leavenworth, founded in 1854, is the oldest city in Kansas. Workers have actually unearther some wooden pipelines, but many are cast iron that have long-served their time for the city’s 36,000 residents. Today, those pipes are often corroded to the point of leaking and even bursting. About a decade..

by Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor Programs to reclaim wastewater for reuse have been in effect for more than three decades, with treated wastewater widely used in many areas for irrigation, cooling water for industrial plants and various construction activities such as mixing concrete and other purpos..

LMK Technologies Continues to Lead the Way in Trenchless Rehabilitation of Main to Lateral Connections with the Addition of Man Entry Lapel Liner Located in Ottawa, Illinois, LMK Technologies has been a leader in trenchless Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining since 1993. LMK is recognized by many mun..

by C. Vipulanadan, PhD, P.E., professor and director, Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) and Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology (THC-IT), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston The focus of CIGMAT research is on ener..

by Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Art Director, Underground Construction Halloween is fast approaching. I’ve given it some thought and I’ve decided I’ll be a comma. Yes, I’m going to dress up as punctuation. Why a comma? Because, while commas can bring much joy — like if you win the lottery with two commas..

The historic Pacific Coast Highway runs along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the United States. Through Newport Beach, California, it’s known simply as the PCH. It winds north along the coast through upscale neighborhoods and shopping areas toward Los Angeles. Visitors travel from around t..

At a time when profit margins are shrinking, it is important for contractors to complete utility installations quickly and safely, without damaging existing utilities. Contractors need to expose existing utilities before they start digging, and that can be time-consuming. One Call paint marks have a..

According to hydroexcavation best practices, there are set pressure limits based on the depth of the excavation. For example, when excavating 18 inches below the surface, the water pressure limit is 1,500 psi. The maximum water pressure allowed in any situation with a straight jet nozzle is 2,500 ps..

The world’s aging infrastructure, expanding population and growing energy demands create an environment that will keep horizontal directional drilling contractors in high demand. At the same time, HDD contractors face new challenges, as project owners demand more information and detailed documentati..

Some of the best new product ideas come from customer conversations. Equipment manufacturers often talk with underground construction contractors about their ever-changing equipment needs on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) job sites. When utility contractors talk about their biggest HDD pain p..

by Edward Alan Ambler, P.E., LEED AP Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a two-part series regarding the rehabilitation of asbestos cement pipe. Part one was published in the September issue of Underground Construction. The city of Casselberry is a medium, size town in suburban Orla..

The single biggest sewer challenge facing engineers and municipalities is inflow and infiltration (I&I). I&I is destroying our underground infrastructure and shortening the critical life-span of our existing sewer collection systems. If this problem is not resolved, structural rehabilitation becomes..

A Pipeline to the Future The 2015 California drought is projected to cost the state more than $2.5 billion and over 20,000 jobs. One of its most serious long-term consequences is the reduction in California’s groundwater reserves. This is like dipping into savings to make up for a shortfall in the ..

7 Steps to Utility Easement Maintenance Program Management The city of Virginia Beach, VA, Public Utilities infrastructure and its urban forest provide sustainable services to our citizens. The utilities infrastructure provides purified water and sanitary sewer services to a majority of our citizen..

The Detecto Pak-Infrared is designed to be selective in detecting methane and will not generate a false alarm on other hydrocarbon gasses. Crews can operate in the field under a variety of environmental conditions due to the rugged design of the device. It utilizes a simple light beam, eliminating t..

US Radar, a manufacturer of subsurface imaging systems, has introduced Version 5.0 of its Seeker acquisition software that automates several key capabilities to help assure the accuracy of US Radar ground-penetrating radar (GPR) systems. Seeker 5.0 simplifies the use of both the software and the GP..

The thermal gradient properties of a composite steam cover significantly reduce the heat transfer from a steam vault to the surface of the cover. Typically, the surface temperature of a composite cover is only slightly above ambient temperature, even when subjected to extremely hot temperatures on t..

Atlas Copco launched new versions of its Cobra PROe and Cobra TTe gas-powered handheld breakers. The breakers are available with two tool shank sizes, which allow rental centers to achieve high utilization rates and ROI by offering customers versatile equipment. The breakers also have high power-to-..

The Cat PL72, PL83 and PL87 Pipelayers – long the standard in the pipe-laying industry for powerful performance, reliability, and durability – feature an integrated, all-Cat power train with differential steering and an electronically controlled hydraulic system that places total control of lifting ..

American Augers has introduced two new horizontal directional drilling (HDD) products – the DD-110 directional drill and M200D drilling fluid recycling system. The 110,000-pound pullback DD-110 represents the “low” end of the company’s mid-range directional drill lineup. The M200D fluid recycling s..

TracStar 1200 offers environmental, safety upgrades The release of the TracStar® 1200 brings the largest pipe fusion capability to date in McElroy’s popular line of self-propelled, track-mounted fusion machines. The TracStar 1200 has many of the same benefits that make its smaller models work so e..

Doosan introduced its first safety training videos for heavy equipment owners, operators, rental companies and dealers who own or operate articulated dump trucks (ADTs), crawler and wheel excavators or wheel loaders. “The goal is to help educate owners and operators about the importance of safety a..

Hobas Pipe USA is currently supplying pipe for the rebuilding of the 40-year-old Turcot Interchange, southwest of downtown Montreal. This project will continue for several years and is estimated to cost slightly over $2 billion. Hobas plans to provide over 2,000-feet of 110-inch diameter pressure p..

Roberts Pipeline has named Robert (Rob) Lyons as company president. Lyons brings more than 30 years of senior management and operational experience from the oil and gas industry. He has held multiple executive positions within Quanta Services, experiencing success driven by development of strategic ..

Cross Country Pipeline Supply (Cross Country), a leading equipment and supplies provider to the domestic oil and gas pipeline construction industry, announced that it has acquired Sideline Specialty Equipment (Sideline). Through the acquisition of Sideline, Cross Country has entered the Canadian mar..

Fifteen years ago, Tommy Toombs responded to an online job posting for an underground locating position. The hiring manager was hesitant to hire a novice but Toombs wouldn’t take no for an answer, and his persistence paid off. Now a locator at USIC Inc., Toombs’ determination helped him shine again..

Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), a leading global manufacturer of water management products and solutions for non-residential, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications has opened a new distribution center in Abbotsford, BC. The Abbotsford location, the company’s first in British Col..

Xylem, a leading global water technology company, is playing an important role in the Panama Canal Expansion Program. Xylem is providing its heavy duty Godwin dewatering pumps to fill the third set of basin locks on the Pacific Ocean sector, with 1.7 billion gallons of water, as part of performance ..

What would you do if your drinking water was discolored and your water system was more than 100 years old? That is the question residents in the Town of Scituate, MA, were faced with when they voted in favor of a $22 million water pipe replacement project in November 2013. Today, work continues on t..

Louisiana Tech University is now accepting applications and nominations to fill an Eminent Scholar Chair Professorship endowed by the T. L. James family and the Louisiana Board of Regents through an initial investment of $1 million. The James Chair will provide leadership in expanding the research ..

Kerite, the U.S.-based manufacturer of medium- and high-voltage high-quality insulated power cable products, completed the installation of 69kV underground transmission cable circuits at two newly constructed substations 30 miles north of Denver, CO. The installation projects for rural electric coo..

Hibbard Inshore In the water and sewer industry, the aim at Hibbard Inshore is to provide their clients with solutions in areas where the local sewer camera companies may face constraints. They do this by offering a variety of solutions to address inspections in all of the conditions seen in the wa..

Volvo The Volvo MCT110C is a radial lift compact track loader with a 2,250-pound rated operating capacity. It is equipped with a powerful Tier 4 Final four-cylinder, 74-horsepower engine with an advanced combustion system that cuts emissions while increasing fuel economy. With an automatic idling s..

Sensors & Software LMX100 now operates in multiple languages: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Arabic, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Turkish and Russian. Sensors & Software has specifically developed LMX100 to make locating and marking utilities with GPR simple and easy. Locate and mark mode pro..

HammerHead Trenchless Equipment HammerHead pneumatic pipe-bursting systems are being used by underground contractors around the world as an effective method to replace failing, outdated or under sized sewer, water and gas lines. Pipe bursting follows the path of the existing utilities, reducing uti..

Reline America welcomes new installer, Whitaker Construction Reline America has announced the addition of Whitaker Construction to its team of authorized installers. Whitaker Construction, founded in 1953, has been in the underground utility construction industry for over 60 years. They have grown ..

3M, TaKaDu Join to Offer Advanced Infrastructure Management To Water Utilities 3M and TaKaDu recently signed an agreement designed to help water utilities learn how to improve efficiency and ultimately save water. 3M currently has a small strategic equity investment in TaKaDu. By combining their s..

OSHA Approves Maine As Newest State Plan Protecting State And Local Workers Maine has recently been approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the newest State Plan responsible for protecting the safety and health of state and local government employees. The Maine State..

Crossing Cook Inlet is about deciding the best route and the best construction methods, while acknowledging that although the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, it’s not necessarily the best line. Beluga whale critical habitat, salmon fisheries, 40-foot boulders, 15-foot-tall..

by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief Recently, I was honored to be asked by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to participate as one of about 40 industry members in a special workshop. The title of the event, Reducing Cost of Construction Underground Transmission Lines, is obviously an ex..

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving to restrict the use of pilotless drones, which are used by the pipeline industry for inspection of facilities in remote, mountainous areas. INGAA has taken issue with a proposed requirement limiting operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to s..