DOT/Rail
The world’s road and railways are the backbone of the transportation system and serve as conduit through which commerce and economic activity flows. Installing new utilities under DOT & Rail can be costly and disruptive to the flow of traffic. Open cut is becoming less and less used while looking to trenchless solutions for both new installation and repair under these valuable resources. Repairing what lies beneath is just as important as what’s on the surface.
While all elements of the surface transportation system face similar challenges that are compounded by ever-increasing demand, advancing age, and a back log of repair needs, repairing what is under the surface is critical to the longevity of rail and roadways. Trenchless technology has proven to be an ideal method for the repair of substructures due the reduction to or elimination of disruption to daily operations and traffic flow that are inherent to traditional open-cut method.
Jack & Bore, Auger Bore, Microtunnel, TBM, Pipe Ramming, Pilot Tube, Pipe Bursting, & CIPP are one of many trenchless technologies used to install and replace existing pipes under these transportation assets.
Electric
Small HDD – Horizontal Directional Drills & Earth-Piercing Tools are the proven installation method of choice for installing cable and fiber due to their efficiency and minimal disruption to surface structures and landscape.
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. HDD & Piercing tools are widely used to quickly install cable and fiber under roads, buildings, or for entire neighborhood drops through a process called stitch boring. Trenchless horizontal boring requires only small launch pits for the missile-shaped pneumatic hammers making the process well suited to areas with existing infrastructure.
Gas
The trenchless installation of new gas lines using piercing tools and HDD have been used for the last 20 years in replacement of dated, plastic natural gas lines. Whether using the insertion method or replacing that pipe using new technologies such as pipe slitting or pipe extraction there are many different trenchless technologies to address the gas infrastructure that is in need of being updated and replaced.
Replacing aging natural gas mains and service lines that are leak-prone with new piping that is more resistant to corrosion and earth movement is a key initiative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation and local gas companies around the world.
Plumbing
As pipe ages, root intrusion, infiltration, and exfiltration cause cracking, breaking, and backups. Trenchless rehabilitation and replacement methods have proven to be practical, cost-effective solutions.
Repairing or replacing damaged pipes with conventional the open cut method is costly, time-consuming, and intrusive. Long-lasting trenchless repair methods for renewing aging and deteriorating pipes allow you to do more, in less time, with less intrusion. Many plumbing contractors utilize an extensive suite of non-intrusive trenchless technologies for the repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of pipes. Such trenchless technologies include CIPP (Cured-in-Place-Pipe) lining equipment and materials, sectional CIPP point repairs, pipe bursting systems, pipe cleaning equipment and tools, pipe coating systems, and piercing tools.
Telecommunications
In today’s digital world, demand for high-speed internet access and broadband services continues to grow and drive the need for telecommunications infrastructure.
As major communications corporations respond to the demand for data, they are building out massive networks of fiber in areas of existing under- and above-ground infrastructure, making trenchless technologies the method of choice. For shorter runs often seen in residential projects, piercing tools offer a fast, cost-effective solution. These missile-shaped pneumatic hammers require only a small launch pit to install fiber optic cable under obstacles such as driveways, roads and sidewalks. For longer lengths of cable, Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is the preferred installation method.
Wastewater Industry
Wastewater systems around the globe are damaged and nearing the end of their useful life. Trenchless repair and rehabilitation solutions are economical and effective in bringing our sewer systems back to life.
Many of the sanitary sewer collection systems in the United States and around the world are near the end of their service life; they have defects such as collapsed pipes, cracked pipes, and offset joints which lead to root intrusion, infiltration, and exfiltration causing a host of issues including groundwater contamination, backups, and treatment plant capability excesses. Repairing or replacing these old pipes with conventional open cut method is costly, time-consuming, and intrusive. Long-lasting trenchless repair methods for renewing aging and deteriorating pipes allow you to do more, in less time, with less intrusion therefore saving the costs of extensive excavation and surface restoration. Trenchless rehabilitation and replacement products and expertise are there to support the needs of the wastewater market, now and for the future.
Water
Much of our drinking water infrastructure, the more than one million miles of pipes beneath our streets in the United States alone, is nearing the end of its useful life and approaching the age at which it needs to be replaced.
As existing water pipes age and population shifts require larger pipe networks to provide water service, municipalities are adopting trenchless rehabilitation and replacement methods for water infrastructure project to maximize their resources. Trenchless technologies can greatly reduce the cost of repairing water infrastructure by saving costs associated with excavation and consequent surface restoration. Trenchless solutions for repairing drinking water infrastructure including Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP) lining, pipe bursting systems, and pneumatic piercing tools. Manufactures continue to innovate to find cost-effective trenchless solutions to the world’s water infrastructure challenges.