Magazine
Utility and communications: Construction update
With technology on full display at the Underground Infrastructure Conference, coupled with the ongoing labor challenges throughout the industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has been on the minds of contractors and investors alike.
Groundbreaking advances made with EPBM tunnel constructed below sea level
(UI) — Houston Public Works launched the Surface Water Transmission Program (SWTP) to comply with an HGSD mandate. The 66-inch, 50-year-old pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) is the primary source for the western part of the city, and its shutdown would impact the system's capacity.
McElroy expands TracStar iSeries lineup with 412i and 618i models
(UI) — McElroy has extended its TracStar iSeries family with the introduction of two new models: the TracStar 412i and TracStar 618i. These additions enhance the already impressive lineup, which includes the TracStar 630i, 900i, and 1200i.
Inside infrastructure: GIS offers best way to improve underground facility maps
At a time when America is making huge investments in underground infrastructure markets, damage prevention to underground facilities is fundamental and all stakeholders must ensure that their responsibilities are met.
Biden administration wants to count downstream GHG emissions when FERC considers pipeline, power projects
(UI) — The President Biden administration announced its latest effort to throw a wrench in pipeline construction. The Biden Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) wants to rollback Trump administration pro-pipeline changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
New Products
DEVELON introduced new innovative technologies on its next-generation-7 Series wheel loaders in North America that help improve operator productivity, visibility and safety.
Editor’s Log: Who’s behind those pearls of wisdom (or that poison pen)?
(UI) — In the modern world, there is a mad rush to expand and embrace all things digital. I would venture to say no industry has been impacted as directly as has media. Gone are the days of print newspapers and magazines dominating media. And while print isn’t gone, it has largely been relegated to second-class status in lieu of smart phones, tablets, laptops, et. al.
New products
Discover the latest developments in the underground infrastructure industry from Vanair ThermalGuard, Cardinal Wireless, Koroyd and more!
Underground construction enters the virtual reality universe
(UI) — The Super Witch is incredibly popular, and at CONEXPO, the Metaverse offered a chance for people to put on the VR headset, pick up the corresponding hand controllers, and find themselves inside the cab.
Unlock the secrets to success in underground infrastructure at UIC!
Join your peers at the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC) in Oklahoma City, March 19–21, 2024, for an incredible opportunity to learn, network and elevate your career in this lucrative industry.
Newsline
(UI) — A California-based company was fined $5 million for illegally dumping wastewater in Mississippi; Three people were found dead in a Texas underground tank, with sewer gas suspected as the cause; Caltech research reveals underground fiber optic cables as effective earthquake detectors; and the latest industry developments.
Ensuring quality control and proper storage of cured-in-place pipe lining
(UI) — Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) has revolutionized the rehabilitation of underground pipelines, offering a cost-effective and efficient solution. What was once considered an alternative pipe replacement solution, CIPP is increasingly becoming the accepted go-to pipe rehabilitation method.
Directional drilling: DDURT construction tackles treacherous ground conditions to connect rural communities
In 2016, Thomas Rathbone enlisted the help of lifelong friends to start a utility construction company that specializes in horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Connecting communities with fiber for high-speed internet access is the sole focus.
Let your fluid cleaning system be the hero
(UI) — The role of drilling fluid on an HDD jobsite is a big one. It acts as a conveyor for removing solids from the bore hole, lubricates downhole tooling, cools electronics and stabilizes the hole. Keeping it clean and usable is an important job, and an essential one for contractors to stay profitable.
Directional drilling: HDD Hall of Fame Class of ’24 announced
Underground Infrastructure magazine and the Horizontal Directional Drilling Association, in conjunction with the HDD Reunion Organization, are proud to announce the HDD Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Trenchless Technology Center continues to prosper, provide industry research
(UI) — The Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University had another busy year and its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) again hit an all-time high in 2023. Research activities were in full swing and in-person training even came back, with forums in Boston and Houston.
Editor's log: Liberty in retreat
(UI) — The modern environmental movement is so concerned with forcing its ideology upon the world that exploring and legislating such nonsensical paths are forcing us to toss aside common sense.
First aqueduct water pipeline rehabilitated with geopolymer for SDCWA
(UI) — When the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) inspected its First Aqueduct water conveyance system in Valley Center, engineers identified that rehabilitation was required. Groundwater was infiltrating three tunnels within the system and rehabilitation was required to maintain the tunnels’ structural integrity and extend their service life.
Tech Tips: Force main rehabilitation
(UI) — Force mains, also called rising mains in the United Kingdom, are low pressure pipelines that lift the sewage from one location to another by pumping the sewage under positive pressure.
Unveiling the future: Introducing the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC)
(UI) — Step into the future of underground infrastructure at the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC) in Oklahoma City from Tuesday, March 19 to Thursday, March 21, 2024!
Currently at CUIRE – Annual update of research center’s activities
(UI) — Pipe deterioration is a complex process, involving a combination of aging, chemical and environmental factors. Polymeric SAPL is a new application to structurally renew deteriorated gravity and pressure pipelines and can be applied to a wide range of concrete, masonry, corrugated metal, and steel pipelines.
AGA Chair sees future shaped by education, innovation
(UI) — Sitherwood, who plans to retire from Spire this December, sat down with Underground Infrastructure to discuss her career, her outlook for the natural gas industry and her work as the 2023 chair of the American Gas Association (AGA).
New permitting provisions in budget bill slight natural gas industry
(UI) — The natural gas industry greeted the permitting reform bill Congress passed, and President Biden signed last month with something short of enthusiasm. The permitting provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had only glancing benefits for gas pipelines and were chiefly written to benefit wind, solar and electric energy deployment.
Newsline
Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said.
LAN, Houston Public Works project earns state-wide recognition
Houston Public Works (HPW), Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam Inc. (LAN), and Harper Brothers Construction LLC (HBC) received the Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association (TX-APWA) 2023 Project of the Year Award for Environment, $25-to-$75 million category, for the SWTP 72-inch Water Line from Emancipation to Tuam.
Asset management: Digging data
(UI) — There are already lots of good reasons for why you should digitally document underground construction jobs, from pre-drill planning to post-drill reporting.
Inside infrastructure: Latest ‘WOTUS’ rule upended by Supreme Court
(UI) — Looking at the increasingly high-profile issue of permit reform needed to get important infrastructure projects off the ground, few issues (if any) are as polarizing as the “Waters of the Unites States” (WOTUS) rulemaking.
Hard surface potholing the right way helps a business grow
(UI) — More Florida cities are seeing the advantages of core saws, since McKim & Creed expanded into coring solid surfaces to locate utilities.
Editor’s Log: Priceless - Safety and damage prevention
(UI) — After attending and helping produce countless trade shows, workshops and related educational functions over the decades, I’ve learned that many of the best sessions were not the most popular sessions – not by a long shot. It’s not always what you want to hear, but what you need to know that has the most impact on your business or job.
Newsline
Daniel Oefner, ENV SP, P.E., Assistant Director for Wastewater Operations at the city of Houston, was the guest speaker at the Underground Construction Technology Association’s Gulf Coast Chapter luncheon on June 7 at Maggiano’s Little Italy, Houston.
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Lynchburg, Va., breaks ground on largest-ever Blackwater CSO tunnel project
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- The EPA announces $6.2 billion in funding for Iowa and Kansas water infrastructure