Underground Construction articles from June 2003

Underground Construction archives from June 2003

Ductile iron: not just for open cut. (Editor's Log).
June 1, 2003... Plastic pipe has gotten tremendous attention in recent years--and rightly so--particularly as trenchless construction and rehabilitation methods have gained in popularity. But don't discount the value of ductile iron pipe. A proven and...

City of Olathe repeat winner. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... In the April issue of Underground Construction, it was reported that the city of Olathe, KS, had been awarded the Kansas Water Environmental Association (KWEA) Class III Collection System Award for recording only five sewer backups in 2001 as...

Russian pipeline gets green light. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... The Russian government has given the green light to plans for a privately owned oil pipeline to Murmansk that would carry oil bound for the United States. The $4.5 billion project, which also involves building a new loading terminal at...

County residents to benefit from water projects. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... Municipal utility districts in Copperfield, Hearthstone and Horsepen Bayou in the greater Houston area are having trouble getting enough water from their wells and need to tap another supply. Rather than digging new wells, the entities have...

AWWA stresses need to rebuild nation's water infrastructure. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... During a recent campaign to celebrate National Drinking Water Week, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) stressed the importance of reinforcing, rebuilding and replacing the nation's aging water infrastructure. The results of a national...

Aggressive Storm Water Management plan outlined. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... More than 90 members and guests attended the Gulf Coast Trenchless Association (GCTA)luncheon meeting held in April, at the Houston Engineering and Scientific Society building in Houston. James F. Thompson, P.E., president of J. F. Thompson...

Seven people killed in pipeline explosion. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... Investigations continue into the April 24 explosion that destroyed a small Toronto mixed commercial-residential strip mall and killed seven people. Three workers from Toronto-based Warren Bitulithic Ltd. were doing curb and gutter...

Russian gas industry report. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
June 1, 2003... The firm Research and Markets has released a report, The Russian Gas Industry to 2020, examining the problems and prospects for Russia's gas reform program, and considers its impact upon the future development of the Russian gas industry as a...

Obituary.
June 1, 2003... Elton B. Long, the Case engineer who helped design and develop the first modern fully integrated loader/backhoe in 1956, has died at 81 in Burlington, IA. Long came to Case in 1956 as part of the company's merger with the Indiana-based...

Rental fees on rights-of-way to stay steady. (Washington Watch).
June 1, 2003... A bill has cleared the House (H.R. 762) which would prevent the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service from changing the way it levies rental fees on rights-of-ways (ROW) on federal land. Pipeline and telecommunications companies had been...

Dominion's Greenbrier gets FERC approval. (Washington Watch).
June 1, 2003... Dominion is trying to lock down the remaining 50 percent of capacity it needs before it can begin construction on the 280-mile pipeline through parts of the Southeast. In approving construction on April 9, FERC said Dominion, which will own 67...

FERC approves more LNG supplies. (Washington Watch).
June 1, 2003... If further confirmation were needed that the drive to supply liquified natural gas (LNG) to the U.S. market is picking up steam, FERC provided it in April with its approvals of an expansion of El Paso's Elba Island, GA, terminal and AES...

Ductile iron proves effective with HDD, pipebursting: study counters common misconceptions regarding ductile iron pipe.
June 1, 2003... In many ways, plastic pipe and horizontal directional drilling seem to be made for one another. Of course, plastic pipe was introduced many years before the development of the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machines designed for...

Water supply issues prove similar to those in the oil & gas industry: water useful to society represents only about 1 percent of the world's water supply and many times, what's needed is not in the right place. This vital resource--worth only a fraction of a dollar per ton and yet, sometimes as precious as gold--can have many of the attributes of delivering oil and gas.
June 1, 2003... From the famous, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, "Water, water every where... Nor any drop to drink..." may turn out to be just as true in coming times as it seems to be in this famous poem written in 1798. Water useful to society...

Seattle Trenchless Workshop offers generic presentations.
June 1, 2003... Registration is currently underway for the next Underground Construction Technology Seminar Series' Municipal Sewer & Water Trenchless Workshop scheduled for July 7-8 at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Seattle, WA. The UCT Seminar...

CGA initiates national database to track utility hits.
June 1, 2003... Buried utilities are at risk in many ways. Excavating, drilling or boring without knowing where existing cable and pipe are located (due to inaccurate or mis-marked locates) and failure to observe marked locations are frequently cited for...

Complex market: 5th Annual HDD Survey: HDD contractors still struggling; utilities upbeat. (Directional Drilling).
June 1, 2003... The struggling horizontal directional drilling (HDD) market saw little relief in 2002 and through the first quarter of 2003, but the technology remains popular with gas and electric utilities along with transmission pipeline companies. Over the...

HDD education for the public works market: efforts are increasing to explain HDD potential for water, sewer markets. (Directional Drilling).
June 1, 2003... Many in the troubled drilling industry hope that new business within the public works sector will help bring them out of the most severe down cycle in this innovative trenchless technology's short history. Manufacturers of horizontal...

InterCon tackles long Florida crossing: bores keep pushing HDD envelope. (Directional Drilling)(Cover Story).
June 1, 2003... How long is a "long" directional drilling installation? The definition of a long directional bore has changed dramatically since the early days of horizontal directional drilling (HDD), when a few hundred feet was considered an impressive...

DCCA Symposium focuses on future of HDD. (Directional Drilling).
June 1, 2003... Over 75 people attended the Directional Crossing Contractors Association (DCCA) 12th Annual Spring Symposium at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, April 2-5. Attendees came from across the country and also included Dietmar Quante, executive secretary...

City elects to move electric underground: HDD plays important role in placing new services. (Directional Drilling).
June 1, 2003... Overhead power and communications cable are at risk of being damaged by the forces of nature--powerful straight winds, tornados and ice storms can bring down aerial lines, interrupting services, posing threats to safety and requiring costly...

Equipment selection guide.
June 1, 2003... EQUIPMENT SELECTION GUIDE AUGER BORING Company Model Type Drive Weight Boring (lbs) Diam. (in) ...

Gabe's Construction enters big rig drilling market. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Since the company's founding in 1942, Gabe's Construction Company has installed thousands of miles of fiber optics, underground pipes and cables for various telephone companies, gas utilities, electric companies, municipalities, cable TV and...

Federal Signal. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Mark Weber has accepted the position of president of the Environmental Products Group at Federal Signal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Ross has announced. Weber took on his added role with Federal Signal EPG in April. Weber...

Central Plastics. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Central Plastics has published a free, six-page color brochure titled Innovative Solutions that highlights the features and benefits of the company's complete line of gas meter products. Central has developed manufacturing processes that allow...

Fleet Capital Corp. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Fleet Capital Corporation agented a $25 million senior secured credit facility for Extrusions Technologies Inc. (ETI), primarily to finance its acquisition by current Fleet Capital client PW Eagle Inc. The loan will also be used for working...

JCB Inc. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Larry Broadley has joined JCB Inc. as remarketing manager. He has more than 25 years of equipment sales experience in the construction equipment industry, and has worked on the equipment dealer side of the business with increasing...

Thompson Pump. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... The Central Florida Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) has named Thompson Pump as their "Vendor of the Year" for 2002. The APWA honored Thompson Pump for the company's continuous involvement in the public works industry....

Nicholson Construction Company. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Nicholson Construction Co. has promoted Lyle Silverman to regional manager of its Western operations and hired Al Neumann, Jr., P.E., as project executive of Northeastern operations. Silverman joined Nicholson in 1982 as a working foreman...

Hancor. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Adel Shirmohammadi, professor in the Biological Resources Engineering Department at the University of Maryland, has recently been named the 2003 recipient of the Hancor Soil and Water Engineering Award by the American Society of Agricultural...

Baker Hughes HDD Services. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Baker Hughes Horizontal Directional Drilling Services has published a color brochure that describes the company's HDD services. Included in the eight-page brochure are Hughes Christensen, a leader in drill bits for HDD; Baker Hughes INTEQ, a...

CableRunner North America. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... CableRunner North America's new SewerLine Flexible system's advanced technology expedites the building of private, secure backbone and access fiber optic infrastructures. This presents a new business model that addresses the needs of homeland...

Trimble. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Trimble is offering a free, six-page color brochure titled Using Lasers. Spectra Precision Lasers by Trimble are leveling, aligning and measuring tools for contractors with leveling, aligning and measuring requirements, offering products that...

Plastics Pipe Institute. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has added an online order form to its Web site to make requests for its corrugated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe Design Manual CD just a click away. Its site, www.cppa-info.org, now features a link to...

Pipe Line Contractors Association. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Peter M. Billey, president of Right-of-Way Clearing & Maintenance Inc. has been elected the 57th president of the Pipe Line Contractors Association. PLCA is a nonprofit trade association that represents all the major mainline pipeline...

Distribution Construction receives safety award. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... The North Carolina Utility Contractors Association (NCUCA) presented Distribution Construction Company of Greensboro, NC, with an award highlighting the company's safety achievements in the greater than 250,000 manhour category for 2002-2003....

University honors Dr. Samuel T. Ariaratnam. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Dr. Samuel T. Ariaratnam, associate professor in the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, is the recipient of the 2003 "Young Civil Engineering Achievement Award" from the Department of Civil and Environmental...

Urecoats Industries. (Business: general industry reports).
June 1, 2003... Urecoats Industries has signed an exclusive five-year market preparation and distribution agreement with Reilly Industries Inc. for Urecoats' RSM-550. Agreement terms call for joint testing in the second half of the year. Next, Reilly will...

Horizontal Rig & Equipment. (New Products).
June 1, 2003... Horizontal Rig & Equipment (HRE) has built a 1,500 horsepower power pack for Michels Corporation, Brownsville, WI. The twin Caterpillar diesels will power "Hercules," a 1.2 million pound pullback horizontal directional drilling rig. Three large...

CertainTeed. (New Products).
June 1, 2003... CertainTeed Corp. introduces Yelomine IB, a restrained joint pipe system for horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Yelomine IB (Integral Bell) is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pressure piping system featuring high impact strength and ultraviolet...

New Zaxis 80 offers more performance. (New Products).
June 1, 2003... The Zaxis product line of excavators from Hitachi continues to grow with the introduction of the Zaxis 80. Compared to its predecessor, the EX80-5, the Zaxis 80 offers faster front operations, more travel power, and a wider operating range, as...

Caterpillar. (New Products).
June 1, 2003... The 287 Multi Terrain Loader, a compact rubber-tracked machine, is equipped with a suspended undercarriage, vertical-lift loader linkage and comfortable cab. The 287 combines the upper portion of the Cat 262 skid steer loader with a...

Volvo construction equipment. (New Products).
June 1, 2003... The Volvo skid steer loader line includes five new models: MC60, MC70, MC80, MC90, and MC110. Engine horsepower ratings and operating capacities range from 49.5 to 86 horsepower and 1,350 to 2,450 pounds. The new skid steer loader from Volvo...

Calendar: important upcoming industry events.
June 1, 2003... 2003 June 23-26, ASCE World Water & Environmental, Resources Congress 2003 & Related Symposia, Adams Mark Hotel, Philadelphia, PA, Contact: Christine yon Steiger, PH: (800) 687-7469 or (703) 683-8500 July 7-8, UCT Seminar Series,...