Page 11 - Louisiana 811 Magazine 2019 Issue 2
P. 11

u
ith its ability to sately millions ot dollars in property damage construction Management published
expose underground and insurance liability. Along with a study detailing how best practices
utlllries and ettectively interrupting service, strikes can also in excavation, including vacuum
remove environmentally cause outages, explosions. tires and technologies, can reduce pm]e:t costs.

sensitive materials, vacuum excavation flash tlooding. A snike near a sensitive According to the study, titled "cost-
is qulckly becoming standard practice tacility, such as an airpon or hospital. savings on l-lighway Proiects Utilizlng
on horizontal directional drilling can disrupt lite.saving systems. subsurtace utility Engineering"
'””'“"" . . D“"‘"5°V“““?“"}“’“”“‘?“'“>"“““ 51233;’? t"s‘i3Ei”2'a".T'r‘§.§?.§fi‘§‘s“i‘¥sz in
The need to connect utilities and 811 betore starting any digging pn:]2cI; mbmm ~_
services across roadways. rivers and however, one call marks only provide ’ ’ 3
congested areas has sparked the rise or the approximate location or utility lines in addition to these satety and iinancial
hnrizumal directional drilling (HDD), V H Vhh I _ benetits. knowing the exact horizontal
a trenohless technology that involves “‘“;““t*"‘t“"“ ‘j"; ‘“ ' . ‘‘ ‘°“ "“ and vertical location of utilities within
using a suriace-launched di-illing  El‘ ’““‘ “’_“ P!“ e’ ‘I “A: ”°‘l‘l“"‘ a plcqect site allows drilling operators
rig to drill a lateral borehole along a “fa ‘E: E Y ““ M; _f‘°" 2’ ,, to design borehole aligninents around
predetermined path. compared to ,E’‘‘“"‘ E’ ““ ““"“ ". ’ Pm‘ 3“ existing utilities. If a utility cannot be
. . _ in the field ui construction excavation
traditional open-trenching methods, M _ d . H. _ avoided, it must be relocated l-laving
horizontal directional drilling is less ““,Y “g"‘:‘°;““_ t’“““‘Ff‘Ff:j‘ ‘°“C U this intormation at the start of a pm]2cI,
invasive and more versatile, it can "F‘.‘‘'‘‘’ W“ ’“ °” " ‘"“," ’ “‘ ‘'‘. instead of ex eriencin su rises while
tilt ki-bh-lllti P 3”’
connectutilities and services trom “ ._'fiY "‘"‘d“g“ Y F; Yifi Y "Ca "3 drilling can reduce projectdelays and
"point A” to ”puinl E” with minimal 9"’ "5 ““ "’5“’““ “ ‘ ‘ 2”‘ expenses
disturbance to above ground teatures. using vacuum excavation eouipment . . .
However, it is not without the risk tor to locate utilities is much safer than R"""'""3 5'""Vf""" M‘ P'”’"’ 5"‘
costly damages to the project During hnrizontnl
site and surrounding areas: _ /*5  H i , directional dialling,
Llitleznl-‘mloxlring drills run the Io};-_{  1‘ __ , S - ' ‘ slurry , a thick mixture
risk ui striking underground . ifs» ,. _/ ‘. I or water, bentonite and
utilities, while the release of _«. 21‘. ‘C ,,  —- ,, other chemicals — is
a slurry mixture used during — >~- , . ‘ \ X . if continually pumped
directional diilling can cause — — ' ‘rip, ‘ 4‘ through the cutting head or
signiiicant pm]e:t issues . ‘V5.1: ‘. drill bit. The slurry helps
The use Di “mum . 1 T An, y: to :'|anspnr}I‘ material out
excavation is quickly gaining . — >r\,ea‘r ‘ °‘ 9 "W °‘°' *““""‘"
. . _ _ \_ ‘id ,_ . ; i , the borehole and cool the
recognition as means to .. ~  ’\ g .
mitigate these risks what —‘ ’ i _." °“‘““E hm‘ D"“‘“E
_ ._ . _ _. I y ,3 , _. operators begin drilling
tollows is a buef discussion . , 1
Bf the mm mum \ in, ~. ‘ , v _ the lateral borehole by
. y  . iirst excavating an entry
excavation canplay at I)‘  ‘ ~ .1 d 1 ‘ Th _
horizontal directional dulling ‘ ' , ' P3 ““ “" E“ P‘ M
_ . . , _> i pits allow a sate place tor
sites and how it can help \ i ,. 1 ‘h _l ‘ U I _ .1
keep projects moving ahead ' «‘~< \' ‘x . E ‘ my " °° 2‘ 3“ ‘
. , . is pushed through the
Locating Existing borehole by the drilling
underground Hrilities using mechanical or hand-dig methods. pressure. Depending on the design of
. . According to the Common Ground the borehole, the excess slurry moves
R°”““’“'V ‘“““““"‘“°°” ‘“ Alliance (CGA) "non-destructive torward or backward throu h the
intrastructure 7 such as the installation . ' * _ . . 5
. excavation and utility locate methods borehole, collecting in either the entry
°f fl"°"°F““ “H” by ‘“'“°°"‘ are considered Best Practices in 38 it or the exit it once contained in a
°°"‘P“"‘“"' "““ “Pg’"“‘d "°"'“ states '71t's also less invasive and causes Pit the exnes's'l:luu can be reclaimed
hnwvuul-i»=~—have«he .:u,r,;ea,.a,’e nan Jan’ "’ ’ ’ ’
ground beneath our teet to become “Ad "mp‘ad E: su‘rfflc'E mwmm “EM vacuum excavation equipment can be
more congested than ever. with this in . . _ . . used to sately and eiaciently reclaim
. . utilities can be quickly and etticiently
mind, honzunlal directional drilling uncovered Em‘ mane! mm mm M the excess slurry. once contained
operators should know exactly where “mm Sud‘ as fiim_DPt'K mm W? in the vacuum trucks (or trailer's)
underground utilities lie betore drilling cable‘ can bz ‘mm mm mm“ impermeable tank, the slurry can be
begins ’. . . P ' transported to a tacility where it can
resulnng in reduced risk or strikes. be 12 a“ dig Nd E‘ W“ “mum
Not knowing the precise horizontal . . . . 3 .3’ ‘P ’ ' ’ E
. Locating utilities via vacuum excavation equipment to remove excess
and vertical location or underground . _ _ . _
. . excavation can also result in slurry helps keep it out or the work site
tacilities could result in disaster; Each ‘ . _ .
. . substantial cost savings. Purdue ( and, more importantly, out of drains,
year. utility strikes cost businesses. . . , . .
. . . . university s Department of Bulldmg creeks and watersheds. .
utilities and government enhhes
2019, Issue 2 taaisnaaaii . 9






















   9   10   11   12   13