February 2016, Vol. 71 No. 2

By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor It was business as usual in 2015 for the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) and its contractor members, said the association’s president, Frank Welch. “However, we believe that’s going to change,” said Welch. “We’re expecting a boom in 2016, and most members ar..

Atlas Copco Offers Service Training Program Atlas Copco Construction Equipment offers dealers and rental centers a service training program to enhance technician speed and quality of work. Atlas Copco provides the program for its full breadth of products, including asphalt rollers, breakers, compr..

Ditch Witch has introduced a new online horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operation and safety training program for personnel at all skill levels and experience with directional drilling. The online Ditch Witch Certified Training Program is an industry first, said Greg Wolfe, Ditch Witch direct..

The increasing popularity of compact excavators in recent years has spearheaded a vast selection of models. Today, equipment manufacturers make enough different models that construction contractors can choose one tailor-fitted to their needs. With all of the choices, how do you find the machine that..

Pipe Ramming Tool ‘Swallows’ 48” Culvert Beneath Highway in Jenner, CA A failed 48-inch-diameter culvert at mile marker 29.9 north of Jenner, CA, had been causing periodic flooding from rain water runoff. Jenner lies on the heavily trafficked, 147-mile-long thoroughfare along the scenic California ..

Similar to an urban myth, the words ‘self-compacting’ soils have unfortunately taken on an aura of acceptability. Clean gravels and crushed rock are sometimes referred to as “self-compacting,” meaning that if they are dumped in beside a pipe, the material will have a high density. Owners, engineers,..

Show Me The Money: Post Great-Recession, City Budgets Are Increasing But Not Nearly Enough according to our 19th Annual Municipal Survey. In 2015, more than half of the municipalities across the United States got a rare taste of what has become an exotic, opiate-like substance – and they liked it...

by Stephen Barlas Washington Editor Amendment Would Allow Tax-Exempt Bonds For WIFIA loans There are a couple of major underground construction initiatives circulating in Congress and regulatory agencies this year. But the prospect of an upcoming presidential election means that many bills, which ..

We have a FANTASTIC line up of RehabZone demos this year. If you are in the Atlanta area, Check out the schedule below then visit the UCT exhibit hall for FREE! Use code HALL16. RehabZone demonstrations will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. Register for FREE in thre..

The new F2 Series Cat Backhoe Loaders includes the 416F2, 420F2, 430F2, and a model new to the range, the 415F2. The new F2 Series center-pivot models build on the solid performance, reliability, and durability of their F Series predecessors with engines that meet Tier 4 Final emissions standards, n..

The R35Z-9 mini excavator has an operating weight of 8,050 pounds and is powered by a reliable, fuel efficient 26.5 hp Tier 4 Certified Yanmar 3TNV88 engine. The R35Z-9 boasts a dig depth of 10 feet 4 inches, a bucket digging force of 7,050 foot-pounds and bucket capacity of 3.78 cubic feet. The tai..

Buzzi Unicem USA manufactures Calcium Sulphoaluminate Cement used in their keyhole products. Ulti-Grout is used for core reinstatement, Ulti-Pave3 is for unusable cores and Utility-Fill One Step, a fast setting, self-compacting backfill material. All three materials are used for small-hole technolog..

Ritmo America DELTA 500 Trailer is a self-aligning fusion machine for welding HDPE pipeline for water, gas and other fluids under pressure from 6-inch IPS to 20-inch IPS. The machine is user friendly and made in Ritmo, an Italian company with over 35 years of experience in the manufacturing of plast..

The new RIDGID MR-10 Magnetic Locator is designed to make finding buried iron and steel objects faster and easier. The MR-10 provides more precise readings than metal detectors, isolating only ferrous objects, and ignoring non-magnetic metals such as aluminum and copper. The MR-10 quickly finds bur..

McElroy introduced the SmartFab 125 as its first benchtop fusion machine, offering a smarter way to socket fuse pipe and fittings for polypropylene piping systems. The SmartFab 125 is portable and can be positioned on any flat surface for precise prefabrication on large assemblies. The new benchtop..

Hitachi Construction Machinery – Americas has upgraded three models of its utility-class excavators to meet EPA Final Tier 4 (FT4)/EU Stage IV emission standards. The ZX130-6, ZX160LC-6 and ZX180LC-6 are equipped with an EPA FT4/EU Stage IV Isuzu engine complete with integrated engine technologies a..

The 300 Series is Boxer’s smallest entry into the mini skid market, and the powerful Boxer 322D mini skid-steer can handle machines meant for larger machines while providing ease of access due to its smaller footprint. Its small size and operating ease make the 322D ideal for the rental and hire ind..

Designed to Maximize Return on Investment Ditch Witch® , a Charles Machine Works Company, has introduced the new C- and CX-Series walk behind trenchers to provide contractors and rental companies with greater performance, reliability and serviceability. Exclusive to the Ditch Witch organization, t..

Michels Corporation closed out 2015 by completing its 11th and 12th direct pipe installations in Toronto and Ontario, Canada – the most direct pipe installations of any company in the world. Michels’ latest two installations were 1,300 feet of a 42-inch pipe and 823 feet of a 36-inch pipe, respecti..

Michels Corporation has been accepted into the Wisconsin Green Tier Sustainability program based on its commitment to environmental stewardship and to reducing its environmental impact. Green Tier is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and recognizes organizations for super..

BOND, a northeast full-service construction management and general contracting company, announced the appointment of Deana Martin as its new director of marketing. Martin brings 20 years of marketing experience within the architecture, academic and cultural sectors to her new role, and will be resp..

Bobcat Company and Doosan joined North Dakota State University (NDSU) to dedicate its new STEM Classroom and Lab Building, which will support studies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The cross-functional design of the facility — which officially opened to students in January — b..

Raven Lining Systems has earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for its AquataFlex® 505 and 506 products. The USDA Certified Biobased Product Label verifies that the product or product familys amount of renewable biobased ingredients meets or exceeds levels set by USDA. Biobased prod..

Eldon D. Jones, 90, passed away in Lake Crystal, MN, late 2015. Jones was an inventor, engineer and businessman who founded dump body and hoist manufacturer Crysteel Manufacturing in Lake Crystal. He started with the invention of one of the most recognized pieces of equipment in the dumb body indust..

Warren County Fiscal Court awarded Connected Nation Exchange (CNX) a contract for fiber broadband development on behalf of Warren County, KY in the advancement of the county’s goal to provide fiber-based broadband services throughout the county. CNX will develop technical and financial models in an..

The Texas Military Preparedness Commission (TMPC) voted to grant $5 million to help resolve critical water needs aboard Joint Base San Antonio, TX (JBSA), under the command of United States Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert D. LaBrutta, Commander. The additional support in vital resources will ensure San ..

PVC4Pipes opened a public archive consisting of more than 250 PVC papers, which were delivered during sequential International Plastic Pipe Conferences throughout the past 45 years, making more than one million words of technical and commercial importance to the PVC industry available for scanning, ..

Infrastructure Repair Systems Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of patented trenchless infrastructure repair and rehabilitation products, has introduced the Trenchless 90° Elbow Spot Repair system to seal joints, cracks or missing sections within the 90-degree curve of virtually any 4- to 6- inch pi..

U-TECH: Underground Technology Cutting Edge Technical Information For Utility Construction & Rehabilitation By David W. Merte Senior Project Manager, NYSEARCH/Northeast Gas Association Cured-in-place liners (CIPL) have been installed on cast-iron and steel pipelines in natural gas distribution sys..

Federal agencies will have less of a chance to slow down applications for pipeline construction if the Senate passes the energy bill which cleared the House in December. The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8) passed the House by a vote of 249-174, which means it h..

by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief Waving a wallet in front of a desperate, starving man without any intent of opening up that wallet and sharing money is a very cruel action. But as the United States presidential primaries kick into full swing, candidates are displaying a similar tendency. Some ..

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Friday he has agreed to testify to Congress about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, bowing to demands by Democrats that the Republican governor explain his role in a cost-cutting move that resulted in a public health emergency caused by lead-contam..