May 2021 Vol. 76 No.5

The world has been living in fear for more than 15 months: fear of an unseen and unknown virus that threatened the very fabric of society and totally disrupted our way of life.  But no longer is fear in charge. On July 13 to ..

Size of Pipeline Spill Again Underestimated in North Carolina  An energy company has again underestimated the amount of gasoline that spilled from a crack in a pipeline running through a North Carolina nature preserve.  The Colonial Pipeline Company issued a statement saying it likely underestimat..

By Stephan Barlas, Washington D.C. Editor A big infrastructure package is a long way from getting passed by Congress, but the good news is that if and when it does  pass, it will include ostensibly increased funding for both water projects and broadband deployment.  The American Jobs Plan Presiden..

The ‘80s picked up where the 1970s ended: an urgent nation impatiently waiting for more oil and gas to quench its rapacious energy thirst, at the lowest possible prices. The boom was on, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, and thousands of speculators made ill-advised decisions to invest in the indust..

Avanti International  THEN  In 1978, Avanti International was established in Webster, Texas (near Houston). David Magill, a trenchless industry pioneer, was hired as its first employee and the company’s first president...

By: Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor Subsite Electronics has introduced a new horizontal directional drilling (HDD) guidance system that is designed to perform effectively in areas with high levels of electrical interference.  “With multiple user interface options and multiple tracking modes, the Marks..

In early March, the Power & Communications Contractors Association held its 76th Annual Convention at the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples, Fla. Some 340 association members, family, and friends attended the convention, including 42 first-time attendees and 42 sponsoring companies. This shows ho..

“If it involves digging dirt, we do it,” is the way Dakota Lunsford responds when asked what his company, C.H.M. Construction LLC, does. Right now, in Parker County, Texas, outside of Ft. Worth, that’s an excellent business to be in. Communities like Azle and Weatherford are in the middle of a housi..

A technology that forever changed the face of infrastructure rehabilitation, and launched a wildly successful and beneficial market will celebrate its 50th anniversary at the annual Underground Construction Technology Conference & Exhibition, July 13 – 15 in Nashville, Tenn.  ..

The Most Valuable Professional of the underground infrastructure industry will be honored at the annual Underground Construction Technology (UCT) International Conference & Exhibition, in Nashville, Tenn., on July 13. The award, co-sponsored by the Underground Construction Technology Association and..

In the span of two months in 2020, the HDD industry almost incomprehensibly lost two of its most respected members in Ron Halderman of Mears and Robert Westphal of Michels. The HDD Hall of Fame committee and Underground Construction magazine are pleased to announce that these two industry innovators..

For some time, pipe or pipeline removal and extraction has become a common occurrence. Either because of pipe failure or environmental changes, pipe extraction is more prevalent today.  Extraction or removal is expensive, and the possibility of incomplete removal is always present. Paying attention..

Under a busy patch of highway between Mead and Loveland, Colo., an auger boring crew for BTrenchless recently completed a drainage project to support the area’s expanding population. The team installed a pair of 200-foot parallel, 42-inch steel casings under the highway to connect drainage ponds on ..

By: Bob Breeden, Senior Vice President of ElectriCom, Chairman of PCCA One thing we’ve all learned over the last year is that fast, affordable internet service is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for all, including folks working from home, school children, underserved communities and doctors serving..

ALLU  allu.net  Stowers Machinery Corp., headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., is the newest dealer for the full line of ALLU Group’s Transformer and Crusher material processing attachments. The dealer’s locations throughout the state, now provide sales and rental of ALLU equipment, as well as comple..

Pevey Joins ARA Board of Directors  Scott Pevey, senior manager of brand management and marketing for Ditch Witch, American Augers/Trencor and Subsite Electronics, has been named as associate member director of the American Rental Association.  During the two-year term, he will represent the persp..

AP/M Permaform  For over 40 years, APM has produced high-quality products for sewer line repair and seamless manhole concrete pipe restoration. The Permaform system and resourceful solutions make it easy to replace manhole concrete pipes without having to excavate and negatively affect the structur..

The 26th one-day conference and exhibition organized by the Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, “Infrastructure, Energy, Geotechnical, Flooding and Sustainable Issues Related to Houston and..

In 2019, rehabilitation industry representatives created a unique, pre-show specialty conference at the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT) that was focused on the bane of sewer systems: infiltration and inflow. The overwhelming success of that event has l..

By: Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor The Covid 19 pandemic has affected everyone, every company and organization, including NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies).  “Early-on, we made the decision to remain strong and steady in 2020,” said NASSCO Executive Director Sheila Joy. “That m..

Komatsu  komatsuamerica.com  Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control (iMC) can help quickly transform construction job sites into highly efficient operations. Incorporating a host of advanced, proprietary machine technology, iMC lets contractors take advantage of productivity-enhancing automation an..