January 2020 Vol. 75 No. 1

The United States construction market is steady and growing slightly amidst the second-longest period of sustained economic expansion since 1964. Despite fears of an impending slowdown, FMI Research projects that construction put-in-place will increase year-over-year by slightly less than 1 percent in 2019 (down from 3 percent in 2018).

For those who thought producer retrenchment in U.S. shale basins, global trade wars or middling commodity prices would stop pipeline expansion dead in its tracks: Move along, folks. There’s nothing to see here.

Members of the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) closed out a strong year in 2019, but the year’s workload totals fell short of the previous year.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. This is a dependable indicator in psychology, but two cities in Minnesota found this to be especially true when applied to pipe performance.

ECI Drilling International (ECI) recently completed two horizontal directional drilling (HDD) installations in Boston of conduits for cable that replaced old power cable service at an essential wastewater treatment plant. The channel bore also was a step in preparing for construction of major Boston Harbor improvements.

perma-liner.com Perma-Liner Industries LLC. the leading manufacturer and supplier of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation equipment and materials, took its know-how and capabilities to Charleston, S.C. During the one-day road s..

isco-pipe.com ISCO Industries’ culvert-lining division, Snap-Tite, has established a master distribution agreement with TV Pipe Solutions. The agreement covers the full line of culvert rehabilitation product, including Snap-Tite pipe liners, from 8- to 63-inch diameter and up to 132 inches, the Hyd..

avantigrout.com Avanti has added an AV-500 Epoxy line to its portfolio of injection solutions used to stabilize soils and rock, restore structural inte..

It seems like the more things change for underground infrastructure markets, the more things stay the same. That’s why trying to get a handle on our industry outlook for 2020 remains a challenge.

A recent in-depth survey by Underground Construction magazine revealed the most recognizable companies among personnel within the underground utility and pipeline infrastructure market place.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy has announced that the department is investing $635 million in 122 projects to improve water systems and wastewater handling services in rural communities in 42 states.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is directing nearly $34 million in federal funding for improvements to water and wastewater systems in New Mexico, including projects at Laguna Pueblo and the cities of Lordsburg and Truth or Consequences.

LEM Construction Co has begun construction of a $60 million wastewater treatment plant for the City of Conroe, the fast-growing seat of Montgomery County, located north of Houston.

Doosan Infracore (DI) has unveiled ‘Concept-X’, an automated worksite control solution, at its Proving Grounds in Boryeong City, Korea.

The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has approved a route for Duke Energy’s Central Corridor natural gas pipeline following a review of the company’s application and hearings on the 14-mile project.

A blocked sewer main flooded basements last month with brown filth and left residents in the neighborhood near New York City’s Kennedy Airport feeling sickened by the stench.

More than $234 billion of capital expenditures (CAPEX) are forecasted over the next decade to address aging municipal water and wastewater pipe network infrastructure. Precipitated by decades of underinvestment, municipal utilities are under increasing pressure to address deteriorating linear assets at a faster pace.

Democrats in the House are about to pass a new pipeline safety bill, which is unlikely to attract any Republican support. The Pipeline Safety Act (H.R. 5120), passed by two House committees in November with no GOP votes in favor, also clashes with the bi-partisan bill passed last summer by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

GTI was named a 2019 Top Workplace by the Chicago Tribune, in recognition of creating and sustaining a positive, productive culture and the novel ways the company and its managers engage, motivate and reward employees.

United Rentals has launched a comprehensive effort to help construction and industrial companies tackle the challenges of today’s worksite, where projects are getting larger and more complex, equipment is often underutilized, labor markets are tighter, regulations more stringent, and the gap between productivity and opportunity is widening.

Electrical contractor Rosendin participated in the 18th Annual Arizona Construction Career Days, held at the Arizona Army National Guard in Phoenix. Nearly 3,500 students and 400 teachers from 130 schools and 12 counties attended, traveling from as far as Yuma, Winslow and the Navajo Reservation.

Upon completing an extensive quality system evaluation, The Strong Company Inc. received ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Brown and Caldwell, a leading environmental engineering and construction firm, has strengthened its reliability-centered design and maintenance expertise by entering a Network Partner agreement with Aladon.

ISCO Industries, Inc., a Louisville-based, high- density polyethylene (HDPE) piping solutions provider, has acquired M.T. Deason. Based in Birmingham, Ala., M.T. Deason has provided products and services for the gas distribution market since 1982. It will operate as a division of ISCO Industries, providing full-service offerings of pipe, fittings, fusion equipment and valves.

Atlas Copco Compressors LLC acquired the assets of California-based distributors Accurate Air Engineering and its sister company, Compressed Air of California. The acquired businesses will become factory direct branches of Atlas Copco Compressors, distributing its full line of solutions, in five locations, from San Diego all the way to Sacramento.

MAB Basic HDPE Repair Options-MAB-4 details the various methods and steps for repairing a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline in the field. Published by the Municipal Advisory Board (MAB), with assistance from the Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. (PPI), the document is available free of charge at plasticpipe.org.

Underground construction in urban areas can be a constricting and uniquely challenging experience – especially without a versatile and maneuverable machine. Enabling contractors and operators to overcome these challenges inspired improvements to an already proven Ditch Witch ride-on trencher, the RT..

Barbco Inc. Co-Owner and CEO, Anthony R. Barbera was granted U.S. Patent #10465460 for the FlexBor tooling and technology. This is another milestone in the East Canton, Ohio, manufacturer’s 30-year history of underground equipment manufacturing.

Productivity improvements and new features to DataLogger 6 allow users to document and analyze even more of their job sites. These groundbreaking enhancements in Version 1.15 include McElroy Optimized Cooling, which reduces the minimum cool time per a new, patent-pending formula that is ASTM F2620-compliant. In addition, this update includes the ability to capture pressure tests in the field.

John Deere enhanced its lineup of small-frame G-Series skid steers and compact track loaders, providing operators with even more power and efficiency on the job site. While the five models (312GR, 314G, 316GR, 317G, 318G) were..

HOBAS Pipe, with its U.S. manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, and several other plants around the globe, has the distinction of being the world’s only producer of centrifugally cast fiberglass reinforced polymer mortar (CCFRPM) pipes.