WorldWide Drilling Resource®

Community Gets a New System Adapted from Information by Tracto Technik GmbH & Co. KG On a gas main and service replacement project at a golf course retirement community in Arizona, contractor Underground Construction Co. Inc. initially began using GRUNDOMAT soil displacement hammers in the extremely dry, hard, tight ground. In addition, crews had to contend with very narrow workspaces, hardscape, trees, and vegetation between homes to reach the gas meters. Open cut was dismissed as too slow and would cause much disruption and difficulties with restoration. Approximately one mile of new three-inch mainline sleeving needed to be installed. Once in place, two-inch high-density polyethylene gas mains would be inserted. In addition, one-inch service sleeving also needed to be installed for about 120 home service laterals. The ground conditions were rocky and difficult to work in. Soil displacement hammers allowed for the trenchless instal- lation of gas services. Due to the extremely dry and hard soils, it would take two to three hours to install the new service. The tools did their job and were very accurate and reliable in the tough conditions, and the crews did a great job of using their experience, skills, and ingenuity to use multiple tools at the same time from the same launch pits to install more than one service at a time, doubling their production. The GRUNDOMAT was a good choice for the project, but longer runs were proving very time consuming. So the company reached out for additional, more productive solutions. It was decided to bring in a compact directional drill to try and improve productions for the longer serv- ice installations, especially in the tough, narrow working conditions. The GRUNDODRILL 4X was used because it could work effectively in tight residential areas due to its shorter width, and had the power the Underground Construction crews needed to overcome the difficult soils. Instead of three hours to install new gas services, using the compact drill, they were able to finish in about an hour. The crews mostly used the drill for longer runs and continued to use the hor- izontal boring tools for the shorter runs. U n d e r g r o u n d C o n s t r u c t i o n Superintendent Ernesto Gonzalez explained, “The gas mains and services providing natural gas to the customers were installed in the backyards between the homeowner’s property and the golf course fairways for this development. They were deteriorating and required replacement. New mains were installed in the street and the new gas services needed to be installed from the new mains to the homes. The old system was in the back easements and the new system was being placed in streets in front of the homes. This would also provide easier access.” 15 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JANUARY 2020 DIR Marcel! Many thanks for your mail and the cool bauma [2019] photo! We were very happy! Vincent Aydin Head of Digital Sales Messe München Germany