U191_1-5.

indd 1 11/1/2012 10:33:32 AM

 Table of Contents
On The Cover
Frank Coluccio Construction Co. recently
completed the final drive of the Beachwalk
WWPS to Ala Moana Park project in
Honolulu. The fifth and final drive included
the first double-curve microtunnel drive, as
well as the longest drive length for a curved
drive, completed in the United States and
Canada. See page 4 for details.
Features
6 
MANAGING
MICROTUNNELING RISKS
Microtunneling projects have a track
record of having a higher than normal
rate of claims and extra costs. This
mixed record has resulted in a gradual
but definite trend on the part of
owners and their design consultants to
supplement standard bid documents
with special provisions in order to
minimize the risk of project failure and
significant claims. By John Parnass
and Kimberlie Staheli
10 THREADING THE NEEDLE
DLB uses an innovative solution to
overcome the challenges of a mixed-
ground alignment to complete a
project in Lynchburg, Va.
12 TECHNICAL PAPER:
MICROTUNNELING IN GRAVEL,
COBBLES AND BOULDERS
Perhaps the most challenging ground
condition for microtunneling is a
full face of wet, cohesionless, high
permeability gravel with cobbles and
boulders (GCB). This paper discusses
the challenges of microtunneling in
gravel, cobbles and boulders and
potential solutions to mitigate risk. By
Steven Hunt and Don Del Nero
16 BREAKING NEW GROUND
Ward and Burke and Munro Ltd. team
to bring microtunneling to Ontario.
By Theresa Erskine
M-2 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_1-5.indd 2
18 MICROTUNNELING
FOR THE FUTURE
Aurora, Colo., builds new Tollgate Creek
Interceptor to provide adequate sewer
capacity to serve a growing population.
20 MICROTUNNELING
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
James Kwong of Yogi Kwong
Engineers will receive the
Microtunneling Achievement
Award for Engineering Excellence
at the Colorado School of Mines
Microtunneling Short Course Feb.
12-14 in Golden, Colo. By Jim Rush
22 PILOT TUBE MICROTUNNELING
A WIN IN KENTUCKY
Midwest Mole recently completed
the Shively Interceptor project for
the Louisville-Jefferson County
Metropolitan Sewer District,
representing one of the large pilot tube
projects in the United States to date.
By Jim Rush
24 TAKING MICROTUNNELING
TO NEW HEIGHTS
Recent innovations have expanded
microtunneling technology into the
pipeline and mining sectors. By Werner
Burger, Diana Pfeff, Benjamin Künstle
and Dr. Gerhard Lang
26 CRITICAL MASS.
New England sees an increase in the
use of fiberglass pipe.
Departments
28 JOB LOG
A look at some of the
recently completed and
current microtunneling jobs
in North America.
31 PRODUCTS
Innovative new products
available in the market are
showcased.
32 DIRECTORY
A who’s who of
microtunneling
manufacturers, suppliers
and contractors.
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY (ISSN 1064-4156) is
published monthly, Copyright 2012, Benjamin Media,
Inc., 10050 Brecksville Rd., Brecksville, OH 44141.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted by any means without written
permission from the publisher. One-year subscription
rates: complimentary in the United States and Canada,
and $99.00 in other foreign countries. Single copy rate:
$10.00. Subscriptions and classified advertising should
be addressed to the Peninsula office. Periodical Postage
Paid at Peninsula, Ohio and at additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY, P.O. Box 190, Peninsula,
OH 44264 USA.
Canadian Subscriptions: Canada Post Agreement
Number 7178957. Send change of address information
and blocks of undeliverable copies to Canada Express;
7686 Kimble Street, Units 21 & 22, Mississauga, ON L5S
1E9 Canada
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:33:37 AM
U191_1-5.indd 3 11/1/2012 10:33:41 AM
 North American Microtunneling
First Double-Curve
Microtunnel Completed
in United States
J
ust as we were closing this
issue in October, Frank Coluccio
Construction Co. (FCCC) completed
tunneling on the final drive of the
highly anticipated Beachwalk WWPS to Ala
Moana Park project in Honolulu. The fifth
and final drive included the first double-
curve microtunnel drive, as well as the
longest drive length for a curved drive,
completed in the United States and Canada.
The entire $37.1 million project
involved five 72-in. microtunnel drives
totaling 5,800 lf, and construction of five
shafts to a depth of 55 ft. FCCC used a Rasa
DH-1800 microtunnel boring machine
and a guidance system from Tokyo
Keiki Engineers to complete all drives.
Ancillary microtunnel equipment was
provided by Microtunneling Inc. The final,
multiple-curve drive totaled 1,241 lf. Each
shaft location had its own unique set of
challenges. Several locations had multiple
entities, which dictated where construction
needed to take place. Coluccio successfully
met the needs of each entity, as well as
that of the client, the City and County of
Honolulu.
Coluccio chief estimator Don Bergman
credits teamwork on the part of the FCCC
crews for the success of this challenging
project. “Microtunneling, when it gets to
the this level of difficulty is as much art
as it is science, and our lead microtunnel
technician, Rene Inasanto, and the tunnel
crew drove the machine to perfection.They
did a great job of anticipating problems
and keeping the project on track.”
He also credited the City and County
of Honolulu Department of Design and
Construction (DDC) for their willingness
to think outside of the box on this project.
Bergman also credited the project design
team headed by R.M. Towill Engineers
for their leadership on the overall design,
and particularly Yogi Kwong Engineers,
which led the microtunneling design
and geotechnical effort. “One thing that
was very helpful is that the geotechnical
data provided at the time of the bid was
very characteristic of what we actually
encountered,” Bergman said. “There
weren’t any surprises with regards to the
M-4 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_1-5.indd 4
2012 Industry Review
Publisher
Bernard P. Krzys
Associate Publisher
Robert D. Krzys
Editor
soils.” Construction management on this James W. Rush
groundbreaking project was administered
Managing Editor
by Aecom Engineers.
Sharon M. Bueno
The project began near the Ala Wai
Elementary School and concluded at the Assistant Editor
east entrance of the Ala Moana Beach Andrew Farr
Park. This large pressure line will connect Contributing Staff Editors
to dual 36-in. pressure lines and convey Keith Gribbins • Pam Kleineke
wastewater from the Beachwalk Pump Bradley Kramer • Kelly Pickerel
Station to the existing 69-in. gravity line
Production Manager
in Ala Moana Beach Park. The project was
Chris Slogar
designed to replace temporary pipelines
that were installed after a massive pipeline Marketing Director
break in 2006. Kelly Dadich
Upon completion, the shafts will be Regional Sales Manager
converted to permanent man/equipment Dan Sisko
shafts to enable future inspection and Regional Sales Manager
maintenance access to the line. Coluccio
Lindsie Bowman
recognized the parties involved in the
project, including the City and County of Audience Development Manager
Honolulu, Yogi Kwong, R.M. Towill, Aecom, Alexis R. White
Rasa,Tokyo Keiko and Microtunneling Inc. Web & Interactive Manager
The Beachwalk project drew attention as Mark Gorman
the first project to be designed and bid as
a curved microtunnel in the United States, Editorial Advisory Board
although Northeast Remsco completed Chairman
the first curved microtunnel drive for Dr. Tom Iseley, P.E.
the Metropolitan District Commission Professor/Director at CEMT at IUPUI
Indianapolis, Indiana
in Hartford, Conn., in 2010 in place of
what had originally been designed as an Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam P.E.
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
open-cut installation. We will provide a Dr. David Bennett, P.E.
more detailed article in a future issue of Bennett Trenchless Engineers, Folson, California
Trenchless Technology. Steven R. Kramer, P.E.
Honolulu will remain very active for HNTB, Washington, D.C.
microtunneling over the next couple of Joseph Loiacono, ing.
Sanexen, Montreal, Quebec
years with upcoming projects that include
the Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning Ronald T. Thompson, P.E.
Malcolm Pirnie Inc., Jackson, Mississippi
project that includes more than 8,000 ft of
Irene McSweeney, P.E.
microtunneling, and the next phase of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission
Ala Moana sewer project, which involves Boston, Massachusetts
15,000 ft of microtunneling. As part of that Editorial & Advertising Offices
project, a Herrenknecht VSM shaft drilling P.O. Box 190
Peninsula, OH 44264 USA
machine will be installing 10-m diameter (330) 467-7588 • Fax: (330) 468-2289
shafts to depths of 100 ft. www.trenchlessonline.com
e-mail: info@benjaminmedia.com
Regards,
Reprints
Wright Reprints
Ph: 877-652-5295
Fax: 281-419-5712
Jim Rush
Editor
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:33:46 AM
 Microtunneling Short Course
February 12-14, 2013

Pilot Tube Microtunneling

1-Day Seminar – February 11, 2013
in conjunction with the Microtunneling Short Course

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, Colorado USA

In Cooperation with: Course Directors For More Information:

Microtunneling, Inc. Timothy Coss www.microtunneling.com or
Trenchless Technology Magazine Levent Ozdemir www.csmspace.com/events/microtunnel/
Office of Special Programs and Continuing Education,
Colorado School of Mines

Main Event Sponsor

TM

U191_1-5.indd 5 11/1/2012 10:33:51 AM

 North American Microtunneling
Managing
Microtunneling
Risks
Revising Contracting Strategies to
Help Maximize Successful Outcomes
W
hile there have been many
successful microtunneling
jobs completed in the Unit-
ed States since the method
was introduced here in the 1980s, mi-
crotunneling projects still have a track
record of having a higher than normal
rate of claims and extra costs.This mixed
record has resulted in a gradual but defi-
nite trend on the part of owners and
their design consultants to supplement
standard bid documents with special
provisions in order to minimize the risk
of project failure and significant claims.
This article describes this growing
trend in regards to three key parts of
these supplemental contract provisions:
bidder qualifications, geotechnical base-
lines and equipment specifications.
I. The Early Years
In the early years, it was fairly com-
mon for owners and consultants to use
a traditional approach to bidding jobs
involving microtunnel boring machines
(MTBMs). At first, many of the projects
had performance specifications, based
on the traditional approach that the con-
tractor bears responsibility for its means
and methods and thus ought to select
the MTBM that it believes is best suited
to the ground conditions indicated in
the contract. In addition, subsurface
M-6 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_6-9.indd 6
conditions were indicated primarily by
boring logs. If some form of geotechni-
cal report was used at all, it was not a
baseline report but rather a data report
that summarized the boring logs.
This traditional approach began to
show its weakness early in the history of
microtunneling in the United States. This
was due in part to the fact that MTBM
equipment has inherent limitations.
While it can operate successfully in many
soils under high groundwater head, it is
also constrained by the fact that:
• The power of the MTBM is limited
by its smaller size.
• The face of the MTBM typically can’t
be accessed to change cutters or re-
move obstructions.
• The contractors tended to use the
MTBM heads and machines that
were the most economical to obtain
rather than design or procure a ma-
chine to suit a particular job.
• Soft ground cutterheads on MTBMs
tended to get “gravel bound” in soils
containing cobbles and gravel.
• Abrasive soils tended to cause ex-
treme wear on the face and slurry
equipment and reduce overcut.
Due to these challenges, it became ap-
parent that relying on the traditional ap-
2012 Industry Review
By John Parnass and
Kimberlie Staheli
proach to bidding MTBM jobs needed to
be re-examined.With increasing frequency,
jobs failed due to differing site condition
(DSC) disputes. In claims and litigation,
owners began to have to pay settlements
because of alleged ambiguities and incon-
sistencies in the contract documents.
For example, a specification based on
the traditional “let the contractor pick its
means and methods” school of thought
would be paired in the contract docu-
ments with an array of geotechnical bor-
ings that did not fully represent the site
geotechnical conditions. The contrac-
tor would argue that the borings failed
to warn of the existence of cobbles or
boulders because none were encoun-
tered in the drilling. On the other hand,
the owner would argue that “everyone
knows” cobbles and other obstructions
might be present and that the contrac-
tor was required to select an MTBM suit-
ed to those conditions. This led to many
costly disputes and failed jobs.
II. E
 mergence of
New Approach
Due to these issues, some owners are
using more innovative methods such
as design-build and GC/CM. The City
of Portland, Ore., for example, has built
extensive MTBM jobs using a best value
procurement method where compen-
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:33:58 AM
 sation is based on cost plus fee. These
alternative approaches should be (in
the authors’ opinions) the wave of the
future of the trenchless industry. For the
moment, however, we will focus on the
most common approach still in use to-
day: design-bid-build. The new approach
we are about to summarize is based on
design-bid-build bidding.
There are three foundations to the
new approach being used more com-
monly by owners compared to years
ago: A) more effective use of specifica-
tions to establish minimum require-
ments for equipment, B) more effective
use of bidder qualifications and C) more
effective use of geotechnical baselines.
A. Equipment Specifications.
During design of the microtunneling
project, we are increasingly seeing own-
ers and trenchless design consultants se-
lect the type of microtunneling machine
that is best suited to the geotechnical
conditions on the project. Generally
speaking, the new approach to MTBM
equipment is two-fold.
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_6-9.indd 7
First, when the trenchless design con-
sultant has concluded that certain types
of MTBMs will be the most successful
and certain types of cutterheads and
associated equipment are believed to
be necessary for success, the specifica-
tion will establish mandatory minimum
requirements. While this is a departure
from the “hands off” approach of prior
years, it addresses the unique risks asso-
ciated with MTBM jobs and is therefore
worth considering on any such job.
Second, when the trenchless design
consultant establishes that certain cut-
terheads will likely fail in the anticipat-
ed ground conditions, the specification
will be written to prohibit the use of
specific machines – expressly. The most
typical example is to prohibit the use of
an underpowered soft ground head on
an MTBM when the trenchless design
consultant is aware of the presence of
gravel, cobbles and boulders in the for-
mation through which the microtunnel
will progress.
An example of what such a specifica-
tion would outline follows:
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-7
TYPE
- Slurry Microtunneling –
not manufacturer specific
DIMENSIONS
- Minimum base diameter,
such as a 48-in. machine
POWER
- Large motor to provide
cutterhead rotation
- Minimum torque requirements
CUTTERHEAD
- Combination cutter with both rock
cutters, bullet bits, and drag picks
- Small face openings limiting size
of rock that can get ingested
- Reinforced periphery to protect
overcut
- Aggressive cutters to handle
cobbles/boulders
CRUSHER CONE
- Carbide crushing bars
- Hard facing on crushing chamber
11/1/2012 10:34:01 AM
 North American Microtunneling
B. Qualifications.
Bidder qualification itself is not
novel and has been used for years on
MTBM jobs. For instance, many MTBM
bid invitations require the low bidder
to have certain key personnel (i.e.,
MTBM operator) and certain company
previous success in tunneling mini-
mum distances through similar ground
conditions. These filters have been –
and continue to be – useful. Laws vary
from state to state on how to qualify
bidders with some states allowing pre-
qualification. However, the following
assumes that bidders will be screened
at the time of bid as part of bidder re-
sponsibility review.
What is new is a focus on the low
bidder’s equipment. We have seen a
growing desire on the part of owners
to confirm, as part of the bidder quali-
fication review, that the low bidder in
fact possesses or plans to acquire the
MTBM equipment specified in the con-
tract. The advantage to vetting this is-
sue as part of the bid award process
is obvious. It prevents the awkward
and risky situation of awarding the
contract to a low bidder on faith that
it will mobilize the specified equip-
ment – only to discover months into
the job, when shedding the contractor
becomes more difficult, that it has no
intent to bring the specified MTBM.
C. Baselines.
In the past, soils information was more
often than not presented merely in bor-
ing logs and the occasional geotechnical
data report (GDR). This approach some-
times proved ineffective, largely because
the borings and other data were often
capable of being read in various ways
and therefore did not yield a single un-
ambiguous contract “indication” for use
in conjunction with the DSC clause of
the contract.
The rising use of baselines, whether
set forth in the specification or in a true
geotechnical baseline report (GBR), is a
positive development but carries with it
a new set of challenges. Do not assume
that just because you have asked your
consultant to prepare a baseline in a
specification or in a true GBR that you
will in fact be provided with an effective
baseline. From the authors’ standpoint,
the main challenges in the development
of an effective baseline appear to be as
follows:
M-8 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_6-9.indd 8
1. Murky Baselines. The GBR is a le-
gal contractual document. As a re-
sult, you can expect the courts to
interpret the baseline language in
accordance with well-established
rules of contract interpretation.
One of those rules is that if con-
tract language can be reasonably
read to mean two different things,
then the contract might be ambigu-
ous. An ambiguous contract, in turn,
might well be construed against the
drafter (i.e., owner). Accordingly, it
is imperative that baselines be clear,
precise and free of mumbo-jumbo
or soft language. Effective use of
“defined terms” helps to remove
ambiguity.
2. 
Unnecessary Baselines. Consider
whether the proposed baseline
really makes a difference to the
success of the tunnel drive or
the bid price. With MTBM jobs,
for example, why dwell on the
groundwater head or permeabil-
ity along the alignment? Baselines
for abrasivity, for example, may
not have true meaning if the base-
line cannot be correlated to actual
machine wear. In addition, it may
not be effective to simply specify
the number of boulders that will
be encountered if not all boulders
will necessarily stop the forward
progress of the MTBM.
3. Baselines That Can’t Be Adminis-
tered. We have seen cobble base-
lines on MTBM jobs where the bid-
ders are instructed to assume that
“20 cobbles will be encountered”
along the alignment (or words to
that effect). However, most MTBMs
larger than 36 in. are capable of and
(if the specification is written cor-
rectly) are required to crush and
ingest a high quantity of cobbles.
Once the cobbles are crushed into
small particles, it is impossible to
“count” the number of in situ cob-
bles truly encountered by the ma-
chine from analyzing the spoils or
the drive records and thus leads to
disputes.
4. Establishing Precedence. If a base-
line is used, its precedence in re-
lation to the underlying data or
summaries of the data should be
clarified.
2012 Industry Review
III. Final Thoughts
This article is based on the more
than 35 combined years of experi-
ence the authors – a lawyer and an
engineer – have had in representing
owners on MTBM projects. We want
to close with two cautionary notes
and a war story.
First, the cautionary notes:
1. 
Our intent is not to provide tips
for transferring unfair amounts of
risk to contractors. Rather, our pur-
pose has been to take our collec-
tive 35-plus years of experience in
planning, inspecting and litigating
MTBM projects and summarize the
main issues that should be consid-
ered to maximize success. After all,
we are optimists and cling to the
belief that everyone in the project,
on whatever side, wants to avoid a
failed project.
2. Every project is unique. There is no
such thing as a canned set of speci-
fications or risk factors and associ-
ated solutions. We can only offer
general suggestions in an article of
this length.
Now the war story. To us, it illustrates
this point: while a well written set of
contract documents tailored to the spe-
cial challenges of MTBMs can’t change
human nature, they can give owners an
easier way out of a sticky situation com-
pared to years past.
Not long ago, we assisted an owner
on an MTBM project. The glacial till
soils were known to be cobbly and
abrasive. We knew that a standard
soft-ground MTBM without any rock
cutters would likely get stuck in such
conditions, largely due to the fact that
the machine face gets gravel bound
when the volume of cobbly material
exceeds the torque capacity of the
MTBM and its ability to crush and in-
gest the material.
Based on this, the owner had us write
the MTBM specification in a certain way.
We a) prohibited the contractor from
using a soft ground cutterhead and b)
required the use of a combination cut-
terhead with rock cutters and bullet
bits. Plus, we required the contractor to
keep the machine face openings small
in order to limit the amount of material
entering the crusher cone.
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:34:01 AM
 In other words, we wanted to avoid this
from happening:
The lesson? You can’t write any
contract good enough to control the
way folks will behave if they are de-
termined not to follow the contract,
but you can write the contract to 1)
maximize the chance of success with
a contractor who will play by the
rules (which the authors believe to
be the vast majority of contractors)
and 2) provide a way out of a sticky
situation with the occasional one
who will not.
John Parnass, J.D., is a partner with
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Seattle,
and Kimberlie Staheli, Ph.D., P.E.,
is president of Staheli Trenchless
Consultants, Seattle.

by requiring use of a cutterhead that looks

like this:

After bid opening (but before authorizing

the low bidder to proceed), we required a
submittal of the specific MTBM the low bid-
der intended to bring to the job. We wanted
to match the submittal to the specification in
order to verify the low bidder’s capability to
bring the required equipment.
The submittal we received, however, de-
picted a soft ground cuttinghead on the
MTBM, which the low bidder then vehement-
ly argued was really a combination cutter-
head MTBM. The contractor helpfully offered
to mobilize a true combination cutterhead in
exchange for a costly change order. The own-
er considered this offer and then terminated
the low bidder for convenience.

www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-9

U191_6-9.indd 9 11/1/2012 10:34:04 AM

 North American Microtunneling
After terminating its drive
within a soft ground
tunnel, the Robbins
SBU-M, was extracted
through the liner plate.
Threading the Needle
Virginia Contractor Uses Innovative
Solution to Overcome Challenges
T
he James River Interceptor Divi-
sion 4 project in Lynchburg, Va.,
is part of the city’s program to
reduce combined sewer over-
flows and improve water quality in the
river and its tributaries. But this particular
section of the interceptor had a unique
problem: about half of the alignment tra-
versed soft ground while the other half
went through rock. While the change in
geology can be dealt with easily enough,
the change in geology occurred under-
neath railroad tracks, and a change in the
alignment was not a possibility.
The solution: use conventional shield
tunneling to construct the soft ground
portion, then use a motorized small bor-
ing unit (SBU) to build the rock tunnel
and meet in the middle. This novel ap-
proach allowed a successful completion
to the project.
M-10 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_10-11.indd 10
Project Background
By the close of the 19th century,
Lynchburg was prosperous enough to
follow the lead of urban centers like Bos-
ton and San Francisco in the construc-
tion of sanitary sewer systems. When
the city’s sewer system was first built
more than 100 years ago, it was among
the finest in the nation, utilizing state-
of-the-art technology. Unfortunately, the
“state-of-the-art” at the time was to pipe
sewage away from densely populated ar-
eas ... and into the nearest waterway. As
a result, most of Lynchburg’s untreated
sewage eventually made its way down-
stream into the James River.
By the mid-20th century the short-
comings of this approach were apparent,
and cities like Lynchburg began building
treatment plants to reduce pollution to
waterways. In conjunction with the con-
2012 Industry Review
struction of Lynchburg’s treatment plant,
which was completed in 1955, a series of
interceptors were constructed to connect
the city’s 21 drainage basins to the plant.
However, these interceptors were de-
signed as combined sewers to accommo-
date both sanitary and stormwater flows,
so during heavy rains untreated sewage
can still find its way into the waterways.
To address these overflows, Lynchburg
has embarked on a mandated program to
build separate sanitary and storm water
pipes so that the system is not inundated
during rain events. Additionally, the city
has rehabilitated more than 100,000 ft
of sewer lines and inspected more than
a quarter-million ft of underground pipes
using special CCTV cameras.
Since agreeing to the Special Order is-
sued by the State Water Control Board
in 1994, the City of Lynchburg has pro-
gressed toward its goal of improving wa-
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:34:21 AM
 ter quality. Since Lynchburg’s CSO work
began, 102 of the original 132 overflow
points have been eliminated, leaving 30
points to be closed in the future.The net
result has been a 78 percent reduction
in the volume of combined sewer over-
flow into the surrounding waterways.
James River Interceptor
Lynchburg’s largest and longest inter-
ceptor sewer is the James River Intercep-
tor. The interceptor is 7 miles long and, at
its largest, is 7 ft in diameter. The intercep-
tor spans from the Wastewater Treatment
Plant along the James River all the way to
VES Road, just below Reusens Dam. The
construction of the new interceptor was
broken into six different divisions.The to-
tal cost of construction, which involves
multiple installation techniques, is esti-
mated to be more than $60 million.When
completed, this larger interceptor will
eliminate approximately 130 overflow
events per year from the James River, and
will close four CSO points forever.
The new James River Interceptor in-
cludes:
Division 1: Completed in February
2009, this project was located along
Concord Turnpike from the Wastewater
Treatment Plant upstream to Winston
Ridge Road.
Division 2: This project was con-
structed by Thalle Construction from
Hillsborough, N.C., and was completed
in June 2011.
Division 3A: This project, located from
the Carter Glass Bridge to 9th Street, was
awarded to Thalle Construction and was
scheduled to begin in August 2012 and
be completed in December 2012. The
project encompasses work along Jeffer-
son Street and Washington Street.
Division 3B: This project will run
through Riverfront Park and is currently
under design. Construction dates for
Divison 3B have not been determined.
This is the last of the James River Inter-
ceptor projects.
Division 4: This project is approxi-
mately 3,000 ft long and has two tun-
nels, the longest of which is over 1,000 ft
long under seven sets of railroad tracks.
Tunneling on this Division was complet-
ed this summer by DLB Construction.
Cleanup work is ongoing.
Division 5: This project is located
upstream of Griffin Pipe and has been
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_10-11.indd 11
awarded to Thalle Construction. Con-
struction began in July of 2011. Divi-
sion 5 work includes installing ap-
proximately 4,330 ft of 36-in. diameter
gravity sewer interceptor and replac-
ing an undersized 24- to 30-in. sanitary
sewer line. This project was expected
to be completed in September 2012.
Division 6: This project was con-
structed by Thalle Construction and
completed in July 2011.
Threading the Needle
The construction of Division 4, built
by DLB Inc. with joint venture partner
Webb Construction Co., included a
tricky section in which the alignment
included a change of geology under-
neath railroad tracks. Because stop-
ping train traffic to build a pit in the
middle of the railroad right of way was
not an option, an innovative solution
was needed. Interestingly, the tunnel
went underneath the tracks – both
CSX and Norfolk Southern – for most
of its alignment.
The plan was to build pits at either
side of the tunnel alignment, launching a
conventional 60-in. Akkerman tunneling
shield from one pit to mine through the
soft ground portion and erect liner plate
tunnel. Once the shield reached the end
of its run, the machine was disassembled
and the shield left in place. From the op-
posite pit, DLB used a 54-in. Robbins
SBU-M, rented from The Robbins Com-
pany, to mine through the rock portion
of the tunnel. Rock strength ranged up
to more than 20,000 psi.
“We knew our options were limited,
so after some discussions with our joint
venture partner, we came up with this
approach,” said Clyde Roberts, field su-
perintendent for DLB. “Once we were
able to do some explorato-
ry drilling we found that
more than 400 ft of the
alignment was solid rock,
with the other 700-plus ft
soft ground. So we decided
to use both soft ground
and hard rock equipment.”
To aid in soft ground
tunneling, chemical grout-
ing was used to stabilize
a 300-ft section along the
railroad alignment to help
reduce settlement and cut
off ground water flows.
Grout holes were drilling
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
in 3-ft increments and greatly assisted
tunneling, Roberts said.
The SBU-M is a modified auger boring
system that uses an in-shield motorized
cuttinghead to provide torque for cut-
ting rock, using the auger boring frame
at the pit for thrust. The SBU-M has an
articulated cuttinghead for steering in
conjunction with a laser. This steering
system allows for accuracy of ½ in. over
a 500 ft bore. This was particularly im-
portant on this project.
“With ID of the liner plate at 59
in. and the OD of the SBU at 56 in.,
there was very little room for error,”
said Kenny Clever, SBU Manager for
The Robbins Company. “We had to the
bull’s eye to have enough clearance to
get inside the tunnel.”
When it reached its destination,
it bored into the soft ground tunnel
where the SBU was disassembled and
pulled through the liner plate tunnel
using cables and winches. “We hit the
target ¼ in. high and 5/8 in. to the left,”
Roberts said.
One of the keys to success, Roberts
said, was getting the steering set up
properly.“There was some discussion of
driving both headings simultaneously to
save time,” he said. “But in our opinion
it is harder to hit a moving target, so we
finished the soft ground tunnel and had
a survey log the coordinates to give us
an accurate target for the rock drive.”
This article was written by TT staff.
DLB used a 54-in. Robbins
SBU-M, rented from The
Robbins Company, to mine a
rock tunnel in Lynchburg, Va.
M-11
11/1/2012 10:34:22 AM
 North American Microtunneling 2012 Industry Review

FIGURE 1
MTBM choked with
gravel and cobbles

TECHNICAL PAPER
Microtunneling in Gravel, Cobbles and Boulders
By Steven Hunt and Don Del Nero

P
erhaps the most challenging
ground condition for micro-
tunneling is a full face of wet,
cohesionless, high permeabil-
ity gravel with cobbles and boulders
(GCB). This ground condition increas-
es the risk of potential impacts such
as: a jammed excavation chamber (see
Figure 1); high torque and microtun-
nel boring machine (MTBM) stalling;
excessive overmining resulting in lost
ground settlement damage or sink-
holes; significant MTBM advance rate
reductions; excessive abrasion damage
to cutters, cutterhead, rock crusher, in-

M-12 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT www.trenchlessonline.com

U191_12-15.indd 12 11/1/2012 10:35:13 AM

 take ports, and slurry mucking system;
and impact vibration damage to MTBM
gears and bearings. The risk of these
potential impacts may make microtun-
neling inadvisable, but at least neces-
sitate use of special measures to help
make microtunneling more manage-
able. Comments on the challenges of
microtunneling in GCB and potential
solutions to mitigate risk are discussed
below.
Groundwater Conditions
Wet, cohesionless, high permeability
GCB tends to cause several important
geotechnical challenges. This ground
condition has one of the lowest standup
times possible. As the groundwater head
increases, the standup time decreases
and challenges of providing face stabil-
ity increase. Unbalanced heads as small
as 1 m (0.1 bar) can cause flowing
ground and overmining. Overmining or
ingesting more ground than displaced
by the MTBM and jacked pipe tends to
cause excessive settlements and exces-
sive flow of ground into the excavation
chamber.
In order to apply an effective face
pressure when tunneling in open grav-
el or GCB, the subsurface investigation
program and geotechnical instrumen-
tation should adequately indicate the
range in permeability expected and
groundwater pressure to be resisted. In
many cases, too few piezometers are in-
stalled and permeability tests performed
to adequately predict groundwater con-
ditions along the entire alignment.
Prevention of flowing ground and
overmining is much more difficult. The
muck conveyance slurry must have
sufficient viscosity and other proper-
ties to form a “filter cake” at the head-
ing. A thorough discussion of slurries
for microtunneling and recommenda-
tions for slurry properties for various
soil types are given in a 2011 paper by
Boyce et al [1].
The muck conveyance slurry for mi-
crotunneling in gravel with less than
10 percent fines (< 10 percent passing
the No. 200 sieve), should not be wa-
ter/soil-only slurry. If the slurry is too
thin and a filter cake is not formed, the
slurry will excessively flow into the
ground and only provide resistance
from seepage pressure. Adequate pres-
sure to resist ground flow will not de-
velop. While water/soil slurry may be
suitable for microtunneling in clayey
or silty ground, it is not suitable in high
permeability, cohesionless soils with
less than 10 percent fines. A properly
designed bentonite slurry or bentonite-
polymer-additive slurry should be used
when microtunneling in high permea-
bility gravel to mitigate risk of overmin-
ing, a jammed excavation chamber and
a stalled MTBM.
Cutterhead Opening
The cutterhead opening ratio (COR),
which is the percentage of open area
on the cutterhead, and size and distri-
bution of openings from the center
are critically important considerations
for microtunneling in GCB. MTBMs
typically have CORs ranging from 20 to
more than 50 percent. Larger CORs are
desired in cohesive soils (firm or slow
raveling ground) and smaller CORs in
cohesionless soils (flowing or fast ravel-
ing ground).
Where the ground has sufficiently
low permeability, no active groundwa-
ter head and sufficient strength to be
stable in an open-face condition, a larg-
er COR is also desired in GCB with a

Face Pressure and

MTBM Slurry
Presuming that permeability and
groundwater head are adequately
known, the next challenge is to apply
an effective face pressure that mini-
mizes overmining. To be effective, the
face pressure must be at least equal to
the groundwater pressure at invert plus
a component for active earth pressure.
This is a very difficult task in very high
permeability ground, which can gener-
ally be assumed to be ground with a
permeability of 10-2 cm/sec or more.
Counterbalancing the water pressure
can be readily achieved by pressurizing
the excavation chamber to the required
level regardless of the slurry mixture be-
ing used.

www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-13

U191_12-15.indd 13 11/1/2012 10:35:13 AM

 North American Microtunneling
clast volume ratio less than 2-3 percent
(clast volume ratio is the total volume
of cobbles and boulders as a percent-
age of excavated volume). Larger cut-
terhead openings increase the size of
clasts that can be passed and minimize
the amount of cobble and boulder
fracturing required by cutters to be
passable into the excavation chamber.
While a larger COR helps reduce cut-
ter and cutterhead wear and damage, it
may increase rock crusher wear since
more commutation energy must be ex-
pended to reduce rock clasts to gravel
size for flow through intake ports and
slurry-muck pumping. A larger COR
also helps prevent clay clogging at the
cutterhead opening.
In high-permeability GCB with a
meter or more of groundwater head
resulting in potentially flowing or fast
raveling ground, a smaller COR is like-
ly needed to help reduce the flow of
ground into the MTBM chamber and
thereby reduce the risk of excessive
torque and stalling. The use of thick
bentonite slurry or bentonite slurry
with polymer or fiber additives may be
suitable for small pockets of gravel or
high permeability ground, but may not
be sufficient to prevent the excavation
chamber from getting jammed with
excessive cobbles and boulders. Fur-
thermore, use of a smaller COR helps
reduce dependence on the slurry mix
design and ability to rapidly adjust it in
changing ground conditions.
Considerable energy is required to
crush cobbles and boulders to gravel
size for passage through intake ports,
slurry lines, elbows, valves and pumps
to a separation plant. MTBMs have
limited power and torque for use in
turning the cutterhead and in crush-
ing rocks within the excavation cham-
ber. In GCB, the volume of cobbles
and boulders that enter the chamber
must be limited to reduce the com-
mutation energy demand and prevent
excessive torque and stalling.
Based on experience from several
projects, Hunt and Del Nero 2012 [2]
suggested cutterhead opening ratio
limits for clast volume ratios ranging
from 10 to greater than 40 percent.
Where the clast volume ratio exceeds
10 percent, CORs should be reduced
to 25 percent or less and may need
to be in the range of 10 to 20 per-
cent. Where the ground permeabil-
M-14 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_12-15.indd 14
ity is higher, the risk that bentonite
slurry will be thick enough is lower
and as a result, the COR should be
lower (closer to 10 percent). Where
the ground permeability is lower, the
risk that the bentonite slurry viscos-
ity is inadequate is lower and the COR
may be higher (closer to 20 percent).
Cutterhead opening size and configu-
ration should be optimized for the
size, distribution, and geometry of
the clasts anticipated and the range
of soil matrix conditions expected.
For instance, if the clasts tend to be
planar, then several smaller openings
may not be the best geometry even
though the cutterhead opening ratio
is suitable.
MTBM Torque
The thrust and torque required for an
MTBM to effectively advance through
GCB is dependent on many factors in-
cluding: soil density; clast volume ratios;
clast sizes and strengths; energy required
to fracture, pluck and crush clasts; muck
flow friction in the MTBM chamber; in-
takes and slurry mucking system; and
friction between the ground and MTBM
and jacked pipe. GCB with higher den-
sity or that is weakly cemented tends
to increase the torque required to cut,
pluck and pass cobbles and boulders.
As the clast volume ratio increases, the
torque required increases. In addition
to clast volume ratios, the size and un-
confined compressive strength of the
clasts also influences torque demand.
A boulder will generally require more
torque to cut and pluck than scattered
cobbles for the same clast volume ratio.
Torque spikes above that required for
general excavation will result when the
cutters impact boulders at the face. The
sustained energy and torque required to
cut and fracture or pluck clasts at the
heading increases as the unconfined
compressive strength of the rock in-
creases [2].
After cobbles and boulders are par-
tially cut, plucked and passed into the
MTBM excavation chamber, the energy
required to crush the clasts to a gravel
size for slurry mucking is very high and
increases with both increasing clast vol-
ume ratio and increasing unconfined
compressive strength of the clasts.
Torque spikes may also occur when a
large, high strength clast is engaged by
the rock crusher.
2012 Industry Review
The friction of the slurry and muck
rotating through the MTBM crusher
and flowing to intake ports is much
higher than normal when boring in
GCB. It increases as the clast volume
ratio increases. Higher friction and
resistance to muck flow also results
in higher torque demand. Use of an
appropriately designed bentonite or
bentonite-polymer-additive slurry helps
lubricate the muck and to reduce the
muck resistance to flow and torque de-
mand. In addition to reducing friction,
the bentonite also helps to reduce abra-
sive wear of the rock crusher, intakes
and slurry mucking system [3].
When microtunneling in GCB with a
clast volume ratio greater than 10 per-
cent, the selected MTBM should be pro-
vided with the highest torque available
from manufacturers for the excavated
diameter and anticipated speed. MTBM
upsizing via “skinning up” should not be
allowed. Specifying or at least strongly
suggesting use of the maximum avail-
able torque for the planned excavated
diameter is strongly recommended to
help reduce the risk of stalling in this
ground condition.
Abrasion and Wear
Another potential consequence of
using water/soil-only conveyance slur-
ry in ground with a gravel matrix and
cobbles and boulders is excessive abra-
sion, cutter impact damage and wear.
GCB muck within water/soil slurry
without bentonite is much more abra-
sive than in bentonite slurry. A more
abrasive slurry results in higher MTBM
torque and higher rates of wear of the
rock crusher bars and arms, the cham-
ber slurry intake ports, the slurry pump
and slurry return lines, particularly at
pipe bends. Severe intake port wear
from crushed GCB may cause MTBM
slurry lines to become jammed and ad-
vance stopped.
When clast volume ratios are in the
range of approximately 3 to 10 percent
within a gravel matrix, measures such as
use of engineered bentonite-polymer-
additive slurry and cutterhead opening
ratio reduction are likely needed. When
clast volume ratios exceed 10 percent
and very abrasive gravel and clasts are
expected, microtunneling should be
avoided unless special measures are
provided to manage the abrasion and
stalling risks. These measures might
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:35:14 AM
 include: a combination head with disk
cutters; cutterhead and crusher armor-
ing; use of bentonite-polymer-additive
slurry; use of larger intake ports and
slurry lines; use of intake port surface
hardening; and minimum TBM cutter-
head torque requirements.
Summary of Potential
Mitigation Measures for
Microtunneling in GCB
The risks of microtunneling in GCB
can be mitigated by a variety of poten-
tial measures. To microtunnel in high-
permeability gravel and to reduce risk of
choking and stalling along with the risk
of severe overmining and sinkholes, the
flow of ground through the cutterhead
into the excavation chamber must be
restricted to a rate that the rock crusher
and slurry mucking system can handle by
one or more of the following methods:
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_12-15.indd 15
• Pre-excavation grouting to reduce
permeability and increase strength.
• Use of an engineered bentonite-poly-
mer-additive conveyance slurry (not
water/soil slurry) that is thick enough
to form a “filter cake.”
• Application of a slurry pressure at the
face equal to at least the groundwater
pressure and estimated active earth
pressure.
• Reduction of cutterhead opening
sizes and cutterhead opening ratio to
less than normal.
• Utilize a MTBM that is not upsized
and has the maximum torque avail-
able from manufacturers for that di-
ameter.
These and other special measures
discussed above should help make
microtunneling in GCB more man-
ageable and minimize the risk of get-
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-15
ting stuck or encountering severe
impacts.
Steven Hunt, P.E., and Don Del
Nero, P.E., C.D.T., are with CH2M
HILL.
References
Boyce G.,Wolski M., Zavitz R. & Camp
C. 2011. Chemistry And Physics Behind
Microtunnel Slurries, Proceedings of
North American No-Dig 2011, NASTT,
paper A-2-01, (2011.6) 10p.
Hunt S.W. & Del Nero, 2011. Mi-
crotunneling in Cobbles and Boul-
ders. Microtunneling Short Course,
Colorado School of Mines, Golden,
CO. 36p.
Milligan G.W.E., 2000. “Lubrication
and soil conditioning in pipe jacking
and microtunnelling”. Tunnels & Tun-
nelling International, July 2000, pp.
22-24.
11/1/2012 10:35:15 AM
 North American Microtunneling 2012 Industry Review

Breaking
New Ground
Ward and Burke,
Munro Team to Bring
Microtunneling to Ontario
By Theresa Erskine

O
ntario is Canada’s most populous region, with 40 per-
cent of Canadians calling the province home. In fact,
7.6 percent of all Canadians live in Ontario’s capital,
Toronto – a city that saw a 4.5 percent population
growth between 2006 and 2011.
Ontario’s population boom has put severe strain on its aging
existing infrastructure, and has also created a huge demand for
new services. So it’s hardly surprising someone saw an opportu-
nity, and seized it.
Enter Ward and Burke Microtunnelling , a new Canadian sub-
sidiary of Ward and Burke Construction, a company boasting
seven years of successful microtunneling projects across Ireland
and the United Kingdom. They’re on a mission to bring micro-
tunneling to Ontario on a large scale, in collaboration with infra-
structure manufacturer Munro Ltd. of Utopia, ON, about 60 miles
north of Toronto.

The First Foray Ward and Burke’s projects in

Ward and Burke’s first project in Ontario came about because
of almost impossible tunneling conditions. They were tasked
with installing a new 1,200-mm (48-in.) sanitary sewer tunnel
running directly under an existing 1,800-mm (72-in.) concrete
pressure pipe water transmission line and an existing creek at
Gore Road, in Brampton, ON. Because of the presence of ground-
water, cohesionless ground and the 1.5-m clearance between the
two lines, settlement to the transmission line was a real threat
and traditional open-face tunneling methods were not suitable.
“There really was no other way to do this project,” says John
Grennan of Ward and Burke Microtunnelling.“We got the call.”
Drive lengths of 170 m (558 ft) and 150 m (492 ft) in depths
ranging between 8 and 11 m (26 and 36 ft) were completed in
a four-week period using a Herrenknecht AVN 1200 owned and
operated by Ward and Burke.
While working on Gore Road, the company was called to help a
watermain project under Avenue Road – a major artery in the heart
of downtown Toronto. The existing watermain was constructed
between 1915 and 1923 and carries up to 50 million liters per day,
distributing water to reservoirs across the city. With the volume
of traffic on a road that connects the downtown core with the
province’s busiest commuter route, Highway 401, disruption due
to construction using open-cut methods was causing serious, fre-
quent and vocal complaints from residents and commuters alike.
And in a dense, urban environment like Toronto, existing services
– including natural gas, telephone, electricity, telecommunications
and sewer lines – make open excavation impractical. Finally, the
Ontario include two 318-m (1,040-
ft) parallel tunnels, 0.5 m apart, at
Pearson International Airport.
glacial till geology and high levels of groundwater in and around
Toronto make the terrain difficult to work with at the best of
times. All challenges microtunneling can tackle with greater ease
than open-cut and open-face tunneling methods.
Again, microtunneling was carried out using a Herrenknecht
AVN 1200 TBM. The first drive took place on Avenue Road, tun-
neling 70 m (230 ft) south toward Chaplin Crescent and the
second on Oriole Parkway, tunneling 270 m (886 ft) west under
Chaplin Crescent to Avenue Road. Both tunnels were construct-
ed in saturated sands with an average depth of 11 m (36 ft).
With the Avenue Road project under way, Ward and Burke got
an emergency call for a 100-m project on Lawrence Avenue in
Toronto’s east end.The snowball effect was beginning.
Taking It Truly Local
On those first three Ontario projects, Ward and Burke had
to import the pipe from its parent company’s regular source
in Ireland, a costly effort fraught with logistical hoops to jump
through. There was no local supplier to turn to, because until
now, microtunneling in Ontario was rare at best.

M-16 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT www.trenchlessonline.com

U191_16-17.indd 16 11/1/2012 10:35:49 AM

 But during the Gore Road project, Mario Recchia, Technical “We had to go under and over 45 services on the Pearson
Director at Munro Ltd., and Gerry Mulhearn, Executive Direc- project, including through a large number of abandoned duct
tor at the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association (OCPA), stopped banks formerly used to house underground electrical services,”
by for a site visit. Recchia knew his company could meet Ward says Grennan. “The project team – the general contractor and
and Burke’s needs, based on Munro’s experience engineering the management group – was very happy with the result and
and manufacturing one of the broadest product line portfolios surprised by the lack of disruption.”
in the industry, ranging from sanitary and stormwater pipe to
freshwater pipelines, bridge components, engineered precast Continued Collaboration
and tunnel lining segments. The two companies also seem happy about the results of their
“There’s quite a lot of engineering required for microtunnel- collaboration. In a 15-month period, over 25 microtunnels, ranging
ing pipe and reinforced jacking pipe,” says Grennan. “We give in length from 25 to 400 m (82 to 1,312 ft) and ranging in diameter
Munro the internal diameter and external diameter, the desired from 600 to 1800 mm (24 to 72 in.), have been installed with a 100
length and the jacking forces. They do the structural design and percent success rate. Up next? They are currently working on a proj-
manufacture the pipe specifically for our project and our equip- ect in Waterloo, ON (hometown of Blackberry inventors Research
ment. We always push concrete pipe instead of steel, fiberglass in Motion, or RIM), a project that will run under Highway 400 in
or polymer-concrete. It’s strong in compression, provides joints Barrie, ON – the first time a microtunnel will pass under a 400-series
with good seals, and it’s fast to install.” highway in Ontario – and further afield projects in Calgary,AB.
On their first collaborative project, the two companies set a “We’re educating municipalities and consultants about the fact
new pipe-jacking record in Canada.The project was to construct they now have choices,” says Grennan.“Before, there was no local
two new jet fuel lines needed for Toronto’s Pearson International vendor for microtunneling, so it wasn’t cost effective. Now they
Airport, Canada’s largest and busiest airport.The microtunneling have that opportunity, and can take advantage of all the benefits
was part of a larger project that included the construction of a microtunneling has to offer in terms of speed of construction,
rail offloading terminal and a new storage tank system, complete reduced disruption and increased environmental responsibility.”
with delivery pipeline to the airport.The system will accommo-
date the delivery of aviation fuel by railcar directly into a system Theresa Erskine, MBA, P.Eng., is director of marketing for
dedicated to supplying Pearson with up to 100 percent of its Munro Ltd.
fuel needs for the foreseeable future.
Based on the required tunnel length and diameter of the jet
fuel line, Ward and Burke determined that the tunnel lining
pipes had to be 1,200-mm ID. The outside diameter of the jack-
ing pipe was based on the standard dimensions of the Herren-
knecht MTBM used on the job.The reinforcement requirements
based on the required wall thickness and loading conditions
were calculated by Munro Ltd. engineers, and the pipe was man-
ufactured to these specifications by Munro in its 470,000-sq ft
(44,000-sq m) state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
This special design requirement necessitated retooling at
Munro Ltd. The pipe for the Pearson project was hydrostati-
cally tested in the manufacturing process to ensure it met the
design requirements and tunnel boring conditions. The steel
band was coated with a red epoxy coating to prevent corro-
sion in the ground.
An important feature with the microtunneling system is the
ability to lubricate the 25-mm (1-in.) overcut annulus created by
the MTBM. Munro Ltd. manufactured special pipes with three
lubrication ports, installed every 15 m, in the tunnel alignment.
These ports allowed Ward and Burke to effectively lubricate the
overcut annulus throughout the drives.The lubrication prevents
ground closure, settlement and minimizes skin friction on the
pipe. Once the tunnel is complete, the ports in these pipes can
be used to grout the annulus.
Two 318-m (1,040-ft) parallel tunnels, 0.5 m apart, were in-
stalled at Pearson International Airport.The proximity of the two
parallel tunnels is a record in Canada, but most impressively the
project caused zero disruption to airport operations or local traf-
fic and commerce. In fact, the only visible evidence of the major
infrastructure project was a small jobsite right next to Terminal
3 – a launch tunnel shaft, tunneling control room to operate
TBM, a separation unit to screen soil fines from suspension, and
the stock of microtunneling pipe itself.

www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-17

U191_16-17.indd 17 11/1/2012 10:35:50 AM

 North American Microtunneling
Microtunneling for the Future
Aurora, Colo., Builds Sewer Capacity to Serve Growing Population
O
ver the last 20 years, the
population of Aurora, Colo.,
has steadily been on the rise,
increasing to about 332,000
from 236,000 in 1992.This rapid increase
in population required that the city up-
grade its water and sewer infrastructure to
keep pace with growing demands, as well
as plan for future needs. As a result, the
city has initiated large infrastructure proj-
ects that have included about 4,500 ft of
microtunneling within the last five years.
In 2007, the city began the mammoth
Prairie Waters Project, a $653 million
water supply project that involved the
installation of 34 miles of 60-in. diameter
pipeline – just over 2,000 ft of which
was microtunneled. Tunneling on that
project was completed in October 2009
[North American Microtunneling, 2010,
p. 26-27]. On the collections side, the
city commissioned a Collection System
Service Plan that included a hydraulic
capacity analysis of the system. The re-
sult: key segments of the collection sys-
tem were at or nearing capacity.
City planners first turned their attention
to the existing Tollgate Creek Interceptor,
M-18 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_18-19.indd 18
the most critical interceptor in need of
upsizing. The Tollgate Creek Interceptor
runs from the Tollgate Creek drainage ba-
sin to the Sand Creek Interceptor, which
then conveys flows to the Metro Wastewa-
ter Reclamation District’s Robert W. Hite
Wastewater Treatment Plant. City planners
decided to build a new, larger intercep-
tor parallel to the existing interceptor to
handle additional capacity and allow for
the existing interceptor to be taken offline
and rehabilitated in the future.
Phased Construction
The new Tollgate Creek Interceptor
was divided into four phases. Phase I was
installed primarily by direct bury in 1996.
The PVC pipe ranged from 42- to 48-in. in
diameter with a length of approximately
6,000 ft. Phase II was installed primarily by
direct bury in 2007, although the installa-
tion included a short 200-ft section of jack-
and-bore.The PVC pipe size was 30-in. with
a length of approximately 9,000 ft. Phase
III was installed in 2010.The PVC pipe size
was 36-in. with a total length of 6,000 ft.
This project included three 66-in. microtun-
nels for major roadway and creek crossings.
2012 Industry Review
Of the roughly
5,000 ft of
pipeline
installed
trenchlessly,
about half was
built using a
54-in. Akkerman
TBM, and the
other half was
built using an
Akkerman SL
51 (skinned
up to 54-in.)
microtunneling
system.
Phase IV was installed beginning in April
2011 and is on pace for completion in
November 2012. The fiberglass-reinforced
pipe was 42-in. in diameter with a total
length of approximately 10,000 ft – 5,000
ft was installed by direct bury, 2,500 ft by
microtunnelling and 2,500 ft by tunnel
boring machine (TBM). The tunnels were
driven with 54-in. diameter Permalok steel
casing in which 42-in. Hobas carrier pipe
was placed. The microtunnel drives var-
ied in length from 200 to 740 ft. The TBM
drives varied in length from 300 to 700 ft.
Selecting the Method
Having gained experience with micro-
tunneling through the Prairie Waters proj-
ect, Aurora Water engaged contractors in
selecting the construction methods for
the new Tollgate Creek Interceptor. “We
did not dictate the installation methods,
but rather gave contractors the option
to bid to their strengths,” said Swirvine
Nyirenda, P.E., Senior Project Manager for
Aurora Water. “Additionally, we discussed
each reach with contractors during the
bid process to help determine the opti-
mum way of approaching the work.”
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:36:05 AM
 While Aurora Water allowed options for ated how much ground treatment and to be able to handle the different soil
each approved construction method – open dewatering would be necessary to use materials. I don’t think we went more
cut, microtunneling, TBM tunneling – plan- a TBM, compared to running our micro- than 10 ft before the soil changed again.”
ners worked with Phase 4 designer CDM tunneling system.” When the project is completed the
Smith to develop an appropriate framework Tippets said that careful monitoring city will divert flows into the new in-
for construction. “Each option was engi- of the slurry returns was key to suc- terceptor, allowing the old interceptor
neered so that when the contractor select- cessful microtunneling. “Not only did to be repaired and ensuring the long-
ed an installation method, there were con- the ground change from manhole to term needs of the growing population.
ditions in the contract appropriate for that manhole, but also within each reach,” he
specific method,” Nyirenda said. said.“We constantly tweaked the system This article was written by TT staff.
Aurora Water used a low-bid procurement
method, but used a prequalification process
in which bidders were approved based on
the experience of the company and the per-
sonnel who would be assigned to the job site.
A geotechnical baseline report (GBR) was
also used within the contract documents as a
way to reduce contingencies in the bids.
Trenchless construction methods were
not as prevalent in the early phases of the
project, which were located in less devel-
oped areas of the city. In Phase 4, about half
of the 10,000 ft of pipeline was installed us-
ing tunneling or microtunneling techniques.
“One of the overriding factors for select-
ing the construction method was whether
we had a major roadway or major creek
crossing – if we did, we used trenchless,”
Nyirenda said. “In this phase we were ap-
proaching a more developed part of the city,
and that meant we just didn’t have enough
room to construct a 30-ft deep pipeline
with traditional open cut.”

Digging Deep
The project was awarded to BT Construc-
tion of Henderson, Colo., an experienced
trenchless contractor that performed micro-
tunneling work on the Prairie Waters project.
Of the roughly 5,000 ft of pipeline installed
trenchlessly, about half was built using a 54-
in. Akkerman TBM, and the other half was
built using an Akkerman SL 51 (skinned up
to 54-in.) microtunneling system. Both tun-
neling machines installed 54-in. Permalok
steel casing.Wyo-Ben provided the bentonite
and additives, Derrick provided the slurry
separation equipment, Microtunneling Inc.
provided the intermediate jacking stations
and auxiliary equipment.
Because of the soil variability, Aurora Wa-
ter and with its consultant, CDM Smith, and
the contractor, examined each manhole-to-
manhole reach to determine optimum con-
struction technique. “We made the determi-
nation whether to use the TBM based on soil
type,” said Brenden Tippets, Project Manager
for BT Construction.“In areas where we had
wet, running sands, we typically used slurry
microtunneling. In areas where we had clay-
stone, we used a TBM. Basically we evalu-
www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-19

U191_18-19.indd 19 11/1/2012 10:36:05 AM

 North American Microtunneling
Microtunneling
Achievement
Award:
James Kwong, P.E.,
Yogi Kwong Engineers
By Jim Rush
I
f there is a challenging trenchless proj-
ect in Hawaii, there’s a good chance
that James Kwong will have played a
role in its design. Kwong’s list of proj-
ects spans an impressive array of trench-
less work in Hawaii – and across the globe.
His trenchless resume includes design
on the Nimitz Highway Reconstructed
Sewer Project (Trenchless Technology
Project of the Year for New Installation
in 2001) and Fort Kamehameha WWTP
Ocean Outfall Extension-Microtunneling
Segment (Trenchless Technology Project
of the Year for New Installation Runner-
Up in 2003) … and that’s just for starters.
His most recent work includes the
Beachwalk Force Main project in Hono-
lulu. This recently completed microtunnel-
ing project marked the first time a curved
drive was designed in the United States,
and marks the longest curved drive and the
first double-curve drive completed in the
United States. The curved portion of the
project was completed in October 2012.
But as an engineer, Kwong isn’t focused
on setting records or pushing new tech-
nologies. He is focused on building proj-
ects efficiently and economically while
meeting the needs of his clients. In his case,
however, several of his projects had unique
needs that have resulted in expanding the
horizons of trenchless construction.
For his work, Kwong, principal of Yogi
Kwong Engineers LLC in Honolulu, is the
recipient of the Microtunneling Achieve-
ment Award for Engineering Excellence.
The award will be given at the Colorado
School of Mines Microtunneling Short
Course, Feb. 12-14, 2013, in Golden, Colo.
“James has been the go to guy on the
Hawaiian Islands working on his second
decade in the business,” said Tim Coss,
president of Microtunneling Inc. and Mi-
crotunneling Short Course director. “He
has been involved in highly complex
projects where pushing the envelope
seems a routine matter. While mainland
microtunneling projects remain very
scarce, Hawaii’s huge appetite and James
steady hand make it look so easy.”
M-20 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_20-21.indd 20
James Kwong of Yogi Kwong Engineers LLC will receive the Microtunneling
Achievement Award for Engineering Excellence at the Colorado School of
Mines’ Microtunneling Short Course, Feb. 12-14, 2013, in Golden, Colo.
Background
Kwong was born and raised in Hong
Kong, which at that time was still a Brit-
ish colony. As was customary, he went to
England for advanced studies in 1973,
earning a bachelor’s degree in geology
from Queen Mary College at the Univer-
sity of London. From there he went on to
earn a master’s degree through complet-
ing a course in engineering geology and
geotechnics at the University of Leeds,
which gave him an initial background in
soil mechanics and rock mechanics.
Kwong continued his studies by earn-
ing his Ph.D. on part-time basis while
working for Maunsell Consultants Asia.
Working under the tutelage of Dr. John
Endicott, Kwong earned field experience
while working on his thesis related to the
engineering geology and geotechnical
properties of weathered rock and slope
stability. Included in his projects for Maun-
sell (now part of Aecom) was a highway
tunnel routing feasibility project in his na-
tive Hong Kong.
After settling in Canada, Kwong served
on a number of projects involving land-
slide evaluation in North America and
2012 Industry Review
Asia. Eventually, his attendance of a con-
ference in Hawaii provided the twist of
fate that expanded his career path to-
ward the underground.
“At that time I met with the owner of
a firm (Geolabs) that wanted me to join
them in Hawaii … and he would usually
call in the middle of the Canadian win-
ter,” Kwong said. “Eventually they were
looking for someone to help with a sew-
er tunnel investigation, and I couldn’t
pass up the opportunity.”
The real kicker for the deal was the fact
that Kwong would be working alongside
Dr. Ed Cording, longtime professor at the
University of Illinois and among the world’s
preeminent geotechnical engineers, and
Dr. Jim Mahar, a University of Illinois prod-
uct who has forged his own legacy in the
field of geotechnical engineering.
“I wanted to learn from those two very
good tunnel engineers, so I made the
move to Honolulu,” Kwong said.“It turned
out to be a blessing, and I learned a lot
from them. I was very fortunate to have
very good mentors early in my career.”
The project, the Makiki to Palolo Sewer
Relief Project Increment 2, involved tun-
neling in volcanic deposits with marine
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:36:28 AM
 sediments laced with boulders, corals,
sands and gravels – a geologic potpourri
that would test the meddle of any under-
ground engineer. “The geology was ex-
tremely complex and it was a very good
learning experience – both in terms of
investigation and in developing a geotech-
nical baseline report,” Kwong said.
Kwong, Cording and Mahar presented
a paper on that project – “Tunneling In-
vestigation in a Highly Complex. Marine-
Volcanic Sequence, Honolulu, Hawaii” – at
the fifth International Symposium on Tun-
neling in London in 1988.That conference
also turned out to be fateful for Kwong.
“It was there that I first saw a microtun-
neling system – an Iseki – and saw pre-
sentations about projects that had been
done,” Kwong said.“I saw that this system
had potential in Honolulu because of the
high groundwater table, complex ground
conditions and congested utility corridor.”
Microtunneling in Hawaii
It wasn’t until the 1990s that micro-
tunneling made its way to Hawaii, with
Westcon among the first to complete a
project as part of a runway crossing in
Honolulu. Frank Coluccio Construction
Co. completed one of the first major mi-
crotunneling projects in Hawaii as part
of a value engineering proposal shortly
thereafter. One of the first major projects
designed as a microtunnel was the Nim-
itz Highway Reconstructed Sewer Proj-
ect in Honolulu, designed by Woodward
Clyde Consultants (now URS).
The design of the $21 million project be-
gan in 1996 with construction completed
in May 2001.The project involved 7,145 ft
of 48-in. microtunneling through complex
geology, including fill beyond the city’s
original shoreline, within a dense urban
environment and amid a maze of utilities.
Contaminated soils, work below the water
table and traffic mitigation issues made this
project an ideal candidate for microtunnel-
ing. The project was awarded the Trench-
less Technology Project of the Year for New
Installation in 2001. “One of the key chal-
lenges for that project was utilities we dealt
with,” Kwong said.“Additionally we had to
work at night to avoid traffic, and limiting
construction noise was also an issue.”
Soon after that project showed the
merits of microtunneling, another proj-
ect pushed the boundaries even further.
In 2003, Frank Coluccio Construction Co.
completed the Fort Kamehameha WWTP
Ocean Outfall Extension for the U.S. Navy,
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_20-21.indd 21
which earned TrenchlessTechnology Proj-
ect of the Year for New Installation Run-
ner-Up distinction in 2003.
The project was designed to lengthen
an existing outfall near the entrance of
Pearl Harbor, and necessitated the con-
struction of a jacking pit in the open
ocean. “A lot of people said that project
could not be built,” said Kwong, who was
involved in the microtunneling design.
“We had to persuade the Navy that the
method was proven and could work.”
Another challenge to the project was
the geology. “The alignment passed un-
der a protected reef with soft compress-
ible soils, and we were not permitted to
perform ground improvement due to en-
vironmental concerns,” he said.
The most recent project to keep Hawaii
on the forefront of the microtunneling in-
dustry is the Beachwalk WWPS to Ala Mo-
ana Park project in Honolulu. The project
involved five 72-in. drives totaling 5,800 lf,
including the first ‘s’ curve microtunnel-
ing completed to date in the United States.
A combination of environmental fac-
tors and existing obstacles led to the de-
sign of the ‘s’ curve.“We were building the
pipeline around a historic canal and pro-
tected trees that would have made it very
difficult to get environmental approval,”
Kwong said.“We also had to deal with two
bridges, a section of very narrow ease-
ment and two major entrances to Waikiki.
Since we couldn’t sink a shaft in the canal
or take the bridges out of service, the only
way to build it was with a curved drive.”
Kwong said that the contractor,
Frank Coluccion Construction Co., was
equipped with a state-of-the-art Rasa ma-
chine that provided the requisite power,
as well as interjack stations and a lubrica-
tion system for the outside of the pipe
string to keep jacking forces manageable.
The project was the second curved drive
completed in the United States, and could
open the door as owners and engineers
see the method as proven.“Straight drives
are preferable,” he said.“But curved drives
can be done if there are no other options.”
Forging Ahead
Kwong says that for microtunneling to
increase in market share, it must become
more cost competitive with other meth-
ods.That can include reducing the number
of shafts (by using curved drives or longer
drives) and improving efficiency in survey-
ing that slow production.“There is good po-
tential for combining some of the available
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
concepts and technologies to make micro-
tunneling even more cost effective,” he said.
One improvement in the market he has
seen is in the equipment. Although some
of the machines that were introduced 20
years ago are still active – and effective
– new machines offer increased power
and reliability. Case in point: the Rasa ma-
chine for the final drive of the Beachwalk
project powered through an unexpected
zone of basaltic cobbles. “The machine
ran thought part of a buried stream but
was able to go through the rock with-
out loss of production,” Kwong said. “If
we had been stuck under the canal, that
would have been a show-stopper.”
As for other owners, Kwong says it is
important to pick a qualified team to lead
a microtunneling project, including the
designer, construction manager and con-
tractor. “This is very sophisticated work
and you need people to make sure every-
thing is set up,” Kwong said.“You need to
put a lot of thought into feasibility and
design phase, as well as bid documents
and GBR. It is a small cost upfront com-
pared to what can happen if something
goes wrong in construction.”
Jim Rush is editor of Trenchless
Technology and TBM: Tunnel
Business Magazine.
Fort Kamehameha WWTP Ocean
Outfall Extension for the U.S.
Navy was designed to lengthen
an existing outfall near the
entrance of Pearl Harbor, and
necessitated the construction of
a jacking pit in the open ocean.
M-21
11/1/2012 10:36:29 AM
 North American Microtunneling
Pilot Tube Microtunneling
a WIN in Kentucky
Massive Project Helps Upgrade Sewer System By Jim Rush
P
roject WIN (Waterway Im-
provements Now), is part of
Louisville-Jefferson County
Metropolitan Sewer District’s
(MSD) response to a federal consent
decree to improve its sewer system
and reduce overflows into local wa-
terways. The $850 million program is
well under way and on track to meet
its 2024 deadline.
As part of the program, MSD recently
built the Shively Interceptor, which in-
volved building a gravity-flow sewer to
replace an aging forcemain. The force-
main tied into five undersized pump
stations that created bottlenecks with-
in the system. Additionally, the pump
stations were subject to mechanical
failures and power outages that would
contribute to overflows.
To build the new interceptor, MSD
turned to pilot tube microtunneling,
M-22 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_22-23.indd 22
which proved to be a win for WIN as
it allowed the old main to be replaced
with the least amount of impact on resi-
dents. Qk4 provided design services for
MSD on the project.
In June 2010, MSD awarded a con-
tract to MAC Construction for $10.5
million to build approximately 21,000
lf of new interceptor and decommission
the five pump stations. About half of
the pipeline length was designed to be
built using the pilot tube microtunnel-
ing method (also referred to as guided
boring method). This part of the project
was subcontracted to trenchless spe-
cialist contractor Midwest Mole from
Indianapolis. Midwest Mole started the
project in November 2010 and finished
in April 2012.
“Open-cut was considered, but at
the depths and soil conditions for this
project, it would have necessitated full
2012 Industry Review
The Shively Interceptor
project included more
than 10,000 ft of pilot
tube microtunneling.
road/right-of-way reconstruction, as well
access problems for homeowners,” said
Greg Powell, P.E., MSD’s construction
engineer.
Although the district had limited ex-
perience with microtunneling, it proved
to be the best fit to deal with the issues
of the depth of the interceptor, high
water table, sandy soils and densely
populated residential neighborhoods.
The pilot tube microtunneling portion
of the contract involved the installation
of 10,678 lf of vitrified clay pipe (VCP)
of various sizes, including 4,437 ft of 15-
in. VCP, 4,280 lf of 18-in. VCP, 733 lf of
21-in. VCP and 1,228 ft of 27-in. VCP.The
project is among the believed to be the
third-largest pilot tube project complet-
ed in the United States.
The trenchless crossings required
the construction of two 12-ft diameter
secant pile shafts, one 14-ft square inter-
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:36:42 AM
 nally braced sheet pile cell, and thirty-
four 9-ft diameter shafts ranging from 17
to 35 ft deep.The soil conditions consist-
ed of loose, medium dense, coarse sands
below the water table and to loose, fine
sand above the water table.
Because the new interceptor was
gravity flow and needed to tie in to
two existing points within the system, a
grade change of less than 13 vertical ft
over the entire alignment was required.
This flat grade meant that a precision in-
stallation method like pilot tube micro-
tunneling was needed.
“With gravity sewers, typically the
more slope you have, the better,” said Joe
Butor, Vice President of Engineering for
Midwest Mole. “This project was so flat
it did not meet 10 States Standards and
required special approval.”
How It Works
Pilot tube microtunneling can be lik-
ened to a hybrid of microtunneling, di-
rectional drilling and auger boring. It in-
corporates the laser guided accuracy of
microtunneling, the steering mechanism
of a directional drill, and a spoil removal
system of an auger boring machine.
Like conventional microtunneling, a
jacking shaft and reception shaft must
be constructed for pilot tube tunnel-
ing. Once the jacking frame is aligned
using standard survey techniques, the
operator then begins the installation of
the 1-m long pilot tube sections. The pi-
lot tube, about 4 in. OD for the Shively
project, is basically a hollow tube with
a slant-faced steering head, like that of a
directional drill.
The head is equipped with a lighted
target that, together with a theodolite
calibrated for the desired line and grade
in the jacking shaft, provide steering
with an accuracy of within 0.1 in. The
operator continually steers the pilot
tube into the crosshairs of the target
until reaching the reception pit. The in-
stallation of the pilot tube involves no
excavation; soils around the pilot tube
are displaced. Bentonite can be added
as each section of pilot tube passes
through a seal at the jacking shaft.
Upon completion of the pilot tube, a
hole-enlargement casing with auger is
attached to the end of the pilot string.
As each 1-m long segment of casing
is jacked in, a section of pilot tube is
pushed out into the reception shaft. Af-
ter the casing has been jacked into place
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_22-23.indd 23
and the spoil removed, sections of car-
rier pipe are jacked in and the casing re-
moved. Following the installation of the
pilot tube, Midwest Mole installed 11-in.
auger casings to enlarge the hole. The
final step was to install product pipe,
which was jacked into place behind a
cuttinghead that is sized based on the
diameter of the pipe installed. In this
case, crews Akkerman Powered Cutting
Heads to install the product pipe.
Getting the Job Done
For the Shively project, MAC Construc-
tion subbed out construction of the
drilled shafts and secant pile shafts to ABE
Enterprises. In advance of tunneling, ABE
completed the shafts, which were then
covered them with road plates round-
abouts constructed to maintain traffic
flow in the largely residential work area.
For tunneling, Midwest Mole used an
Akkerman 4812 and Akkerman 308 de-
pending on the diameter and required
thrust. Additional equipment included a
Vermeer mud mixing plant and benton-
ite and additives from Wyo-Ben. Can Clay
was the VCP supplier.
Ground conditions consisted of loose,
medium-grained sand below the watertable,
and loose, fine-grained sands above the wa-
tertable. In areas below the watertable, Mid-
west Mole installed PVC drain pipes into
the shaft beneath the access area, and de-
watered the pit using submersible pumps.
Since sands are more problematic
than cohesive soils, the bentonite pro-
gram became all the more important in
building the project, Butor said.
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-23
“Most people are aware that it is im-
portant to have a bentonite program, but
in order for it to be successful, you need a
detailed plan: what you are mixing, how
you are mixing it, at what ratios, how you
are injecting it,” Butor said.“You also need
to be monitoring what you are injecting
and making adjustments as needed. It
is also important to make sure that the
crew understands what needs to be done
and assign responsibilities.”
In the end, pilot tube microtunneling
proved to be a good choice for the con-
ditions. “The overall performance was
excellent,” Powell said. “For the length
of runs, soil conditions and relatively flat
gradients, having excellent grade control
was imperative and the pilot tube meth-
od provided that important control for
the constraints we were dealing with.”
Finally, teamwork played a big role in
the successful completion of the proj-
ect. “With two crews running for over
16 months, the pipe supplier (Can Clay),
equipment manufacturer (Akkerman) and
project team (MSD, Midwest Mole, MAC)
had to tackle this monumental undertak-
ing as a team to ensure success,” Butor said.
Jim Rush is editor of Trenchless
Technology and TBM: Tunnel
Business Magazine.
The depth of the interceptor
would have necessitated
closing roads in the residential
project area if constructed
with open-cut methods.
11/1/2012 10:36:44 AM
 North American Microtunneling
Taking Microtunneling to New Heights
Recent Innovations Expand Microtunneling Technology into Pipeline
and Mining Sectors By Werner Burger, Diana Pfeff, Benjamin Künstle and Dr. Gerhard Lang
M
odern trenchless technology
enables pipelines to be built
over large distances, with a
reduced number of shafts,
low risk of settlement and minimum
impact on the environment. Tunneling
equipment manufacturer Herrenknecht,
which has more than 25 years of expe-
rience worldwide in the areas of pipe
jacking and segmental lining tunnels,
has developed two innovative methods
based on established microtunneling
technology for the pipeline and mining
industry: Direct Pipe and Boxhole drill-
ing technology.
Direct Pipe for Pipeline
Installation
The Direct Pipe method has been de-
signed for trenchless installation of pre-
fabricated steel pipelines. It combines
microtunneling technology with newly
developed thruster technology, the so-
called Pipe Thruster. Direct Pipe incor-
porates the advantages of microtunnel-
ing, which reduces risk of frack outs in
difficult ground conditions compared
to horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
The Pipe Thruster generates the thrust
for the operation similar to the jacking
frame in a standard pipe jacking opera-
tion. It originally has been developed
as pipe assist tool for the pullback of the
pipe in a standard HDD operation.
The Pipe Thruster embraces the pre-
fabricated and laid out pipeline and
pushes it into the ground in strokes of
5 m each. The requisite bore hole is ex-
FIGURE 1
Direct Pipe river crossing, view from shaft with Pipe Thruster.
M-24 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_24-25.indd 24
cavated by a slurry microtunneling ma-
chine (AVN), which is mounted at the
front of the pipeline (Figure 1). Prior to
launching the machine, it is positioned
at the requisite access angle in front of
the launch seal. The pipeline is welded
to the conical rear section of the ma-
chine and mounted on rollers behind
the launch pit. The clamping unit of the
Pipe Thruster embraces the pipeline and
thrusts it into the ground along with the
machine. The current maximum pipe-
line diameter that can be clamped is 60
in. OD (1,524 mm). The forces to be an-
chored depend on the pipeline access
angle and the maximum thrust force to
be applied.
Installation of Coated
Gas Pipelines
Since 2007 more than 18 pipeline
projects have been successfully com-
pleted in Europe and the United States
using the Direct Pipe method. After
passing elaborate quality load tests
conducted on test pipes with various
coating materials to ensure that the
Pipe Thruster does not pose a risk of
damaging the coating of the pipes, ap-
proval was given from a Dutch-German
gas supplier for utilizing the Direct Pipe
method for pipeline installation. A to-
tal of six crossings were then realized
in the Netherlands – between 360 and
1,400 m in length – crossing rivers, rail-
ways lines and archaeological sites. The
project was part of the approximately
500-km long North-South Route of 48-
2012 Industry Review
in. OD (1,220 mm) pipe for transport-
ing gas throughout the Netherlands.The
most challenging crossing was a 1,400-
m long section, which represents the
longest pipeline ever installed by Direct
Pipe to date. In a geology of sand, gravel
and clay two Herrenknecht Pipe Thrust-
ers HK500PT pushed the 48-in. pipeline
into the ground with a maximum daily
advance rate of 230 m. In the meantime,
Direct Pipe has proven itself in several
gas pipeline projects, including the
crossing of I-70 in Florida (August 2010)
and a recent conductor pipe installation
in Jersey City, N.J. In addition to Europe
and The United States, installations are
planned for Canada and Thailand.
Allowing fast installation rates, the Di-
rect Pipe method is an alternative to HDD
and standard microtunneling: The high
installation reliability in difficult (perme-
able) soils – compared to HDD – as well
as the economic advantage over conven-
tional pipe jacking translates into consid-
erable competitiveness of this method.
Boxhole Boring Machine:
New Technology for
Creating Slot Holes
A large number of vertical or inclined
small-diameter slot holes need to be
excavated in many underground mines
worldwide. To this aim, Herrenknecht
has developed and built a new Boxhole
Boring Machine (BBM). This concept is
also based on the well-proven pipe jack-
ing technology, targeting a high safety
standard, minimal drift dimension, high
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:37:09 AM

FIGURE 2
The modular design of the Boxhole Boring Machine
allows operation even in tight spatial conditions.
mobility and flexibility. Higher produc-
tion rates can be achieved using the
BBM, resulting in significant time savings
compared to conventional drill-and-blast
excavations. The faster and more safely
slot holes can be constructed, the earlier
the actual production in the mine can
start or be continued.
The BBM was developed for construc-
tion of vertical and inclined slot holes (±
30° from vertical) with a diameter of up
to 1.5 m and a length of (maximum) 60 m
in hard rock formations. During develop-
ment, the focus was mainly on increased
safety due to a remotely operated ma-
chine, higher productivity and optimum
machine mobility. Quick relocation of the
BBM and minimum space requirements
were also key factors of the design.
For transporting the BBM, a compact
crawler unit provides a high degree of
flexibility in confined underground con-
ditions. A modular design allows opera-
tion even in tight spatial conditions.The
jacking frame with the boring unit, cable
drum and power pack can be positioned
separately (Figure 2).
In the production area, the jacking
frame is adjusted to its correct position
and aligned toward the requisite boring
angle. To stabilize the system and trans-
fer the operational thrust and torque
loads into the rock, the jacking frame is
braced against the floor and the back.
The thrust forces are transferred from
the jacking frame to the machine cutter-
head via steel thrust pipes similar to hor-
izontal pipe jacking operation (Figure
3). The cutterhead is designed for hard
rock geologies of 180 MPa (26,000 psi)
and more and fitted with multiple-row
carbide cutters. Different cutterhead
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_24-25.indd 25
variants equipped with various cutter
tools can be used as an alternative.
A funnel directs the excavated cut-
tings through the boring machine and
the thrust pipes to the material chute on
the jacking frame where they slide into
a skip for transporting.
After each meter of exaction, the op-
eration process will be stopped tempo-
rarily. A clamping system holds the pipe
string and the boring machine in place
in order to install and connect the next
thrust pipe. Once the required boring
distance been reached, the boring unit is
retracted. The thrust pipes are removed
one by one until the boring unit is com-
pletely pulled back. The BBM is fully
remote-controlled, also the crawler for
relocating the BBM is remote-controlled,
so the operator remains in a safe work-
ing area during boring and transport.
BBM Application
in Australia
Mancala Pty Ltd., providing special-
ized services for the Australian mining
and construction industry, ordered a
Herrenknecht BBM1100 in October
2010. In early 2011, the prototype was
tested in the small Clara Mine close to
the Herrenknecht factory in southern
Germany. Vertical and inclined test slot
holes with a diameter of 1.1 m and a
length of 9 m were successfully drilled
and showed that production rates of 9
m within 5 hours could be achieved in
challenging rock conditions with a UCS
of up to 250 MPa (36,000 psi). During
this period, valuable data was collected
in order to optimize operational param-
eters and handling details.
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
After commissioning in Australia in
September 2011, the BBM was transport-
ed to the Cadia East Underground Mine,
located 260 km (160 miles) west of Syd-
ney. Gold and copper deposits cover an
area 2.5 km in length, 600 m wide and
up to 1.9 km deep. During the test run
three vertical operations with a length
of approximately 18 m were success-
fully bored in fractured and blocky rock
formations with a UCS of up to 200 MPa
(29,000 psi). From November 2011 to
June 2012, the Herrenknecht BBM1100
was in operation at a depth of approxi-
mately 1,000 m at the production level
for developing the draw points, making it
a key component in development of the
mine. It realized more than 40 slot holes
with an average length of 16.5 m and an
average advance rate of 1.5 m/h. The op-
erator succeeded in realizing up to three
slot holes a week in single-shift operation
(including setup, boring and transport
preparation). Now the BBM1100 is em-
ployed in the Broken Hill Mine in New
South Wales for constructing vertical and
inclined slot holes. Because of the suc-
cessful results and upcoming mine inter-
est the customer already ordered two fur-
ther Herrenknecht BBMs, which will be
commissioned in early 2013.
Werner Burger is chief engineer,
Diana Pfeff is product manager for
Direct Pipe, Benjamin Künstle is a
member of the mining applications
team, and Dr. Gerhard Lang is
business development manager
for Herrenknecht AG, based in
Schwanua, Germany.
FIGURE 3
BBM system overview: vertical
slot hole construction based on the
horizontal pipe jacking operation.
M-25
11/1/2012 10:37:17 AM
 North American Microtunneling
Critical Mass.
New England Sees an Increase
in the Use of Fiberglass Pipe
H
ighlighted by recent major
projects in Massachusetts,
the New England region has
recently seen an increase
in installations of centrifugally cast,
fiberglass-reinforced polymer mortar
(CCFRPM) pipe for microtunneling and
pilot tube microtunneling projects. One
project involved pilot tube auger boring
under a river to install 430 ft of 36-in.
diameter CCFRPM pipe to contain elec-
trical conduits, while another project
consisted of microtunneling four runs
of 48- and 57-in. diameter CCFRPM pipe
at distances up to 837 ft.
Pilot Tube Tunneling
in Cambridge
Construction of the $14 million Cam-
bridge Park Drive Drainage Improve-
M-26 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_26-27.indd 26
ments project eliminated a combined
sewer outfall near the public drinking
water supply in Cambridge, Mass., mini-
mized flooding in West Cambridge, and
reduced the discharge of pollutants into
the Little River. Part of the project in-
volved relocating five utilities in order to
build a wetland basin.The utilities cross-
ing the Little River needed replacement
using a suitable trenchless method, ac-
cording to a technical paper by John J.
Struzziery, P.E., of the engineering firm
of Kleinfelder, Cambridge, and Nick
Strater, P.G., of Brierly Associates LLC,
Manchester, N.H.
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD)
was originally designed and bid as the
preferred means of relocating the utili-
ties for the river crossing. After the bid,
however, the proposed length of the
2012 Industry Review
HDD bore could not be accommodated
due to adjacent property restrictions
that prevented the city from obtaining
the needed rights of entry.
After a detailed review of alternative
trenchless methods, pilot-tube guided
auger boring (PTAB) was selected. The
five utility crossings ranged in diam-
eter from 4 to 36 in. The most challeng-
ing reach involved a 430-ft crossing for
electrical conduit with 36-in. diameter
HOBAS pipe – a feat which people con-
nected with the project believe set a
new world record for the PTAB method.
The general contractor, P. Gioioso &
Sons, Inc., Hyde Park, Mass., subcontract-
ed the trenchless crossings to Icon Tun-
nel Systems, East Brunswick, N.J.
The PTAB method is a multi-stage pro-
cess that begins with jacking a series of
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:37:27 AM
 pilot tube rods through the ground from
a launching pit toward a receiving pit.
The pilot tube rods and tube head sim-
ply displace the soil so no soil removal
is required until later. “For guidance, the
5.5-in. diameter pilot tube uses a the-
odolite camera that is mounted on the
ground, or on the shaft along with the
jacking machine,” said David Crandall,
vice president of Icon.
Once the pilot tube reaches the re-
ceiving pit, the line and grade for the
bore are established. The next step is
to jack in 16.5-in. temporary augers and
casings. “Your pilot rods are removed
as you’re jacking,” said Crandall. “As the
casings and augers advance through the
ground simultaneously, the pilot rods are
removed and taken out through the re-
ception pit until the casings reach the
reception pit. Now the 16.5-in. casings
and augers are in the ground following
the path of the line and grade.”
On the Cambridge project, Icon next
attached a larger reaming extension kit
to the pipe string in the jacking pit. A
direct hydraulic drive motor was lo-
cated inside the extension to excavate
the overcut. The overcut of dirt was
brought in through the extension, and
then pushed back through the casings
toward the reception pit.
The 36-in. HOBAS pipe fits behind
the extension using a jacking ring. “The
only things inside the pipe at that point
were the hydraulic lines, the water lines
or bentonite lines that go directly to the
back of the extension,” said Crandall. “At
this point you’re just loading in your HO-
BAS pipe and pushing it forward. As the
extension advances through the ground,
the casings are removed in the recep-
tion pit.When your HOBAS pipe reaches
the other side, your job is done.”
According to John Struzziery, se-
nior program manager for Kleinfelder,
CCFRPM pipe was specified for this
project because of its thermal proper-
ties – it does not conduct heat well. Six
high-voltage electrical conduits were
grouted inside the HOBAS pipe. “The
HOBAS pipe provides insulation around
the electrical conduits, so that heat
doesn’t escape beyond the casing,” said
Struzziery.
Largest Public Works
Project for Brookline
In Brookline, Mass., CCFRPM pipe was
used on the Lower Beacon Street Sewer
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_26-27.indd 27
Separation Phase II project. According
to BETA Group’s website, the Town of
Brookline engaged BETA to oversee and
manage the construction of this $18.1
million, two-phase sewer separation
project located in the easternmost ur-
banized areas of the town. The majority
of the project is located along the con-
gested Beacon Street corridor and ad-
joining neighborhood streets. This is the
largest public works project ever com-
missioned by the town and is a joint and
cooperative effort between the Town of
Brookline and the Massachusetts Water
Resources Authority (MWRA) as part of
their Long-Term Combined Sewer Over-
flow (CSO) Control Plan.
The primary purpose of the project is
to separate sanitary flows from an exist-
ing 110-year-old combined brick sewer
system by installing new large-diameter
sewers that connect directly into the
MWRA facilities. The existing combined
sewer was then converted to a dedicat-
ed conduit for transporting storm drain-
age to the Charles River. Project benefits
will reduce the amount of storm-related
flows entering the MWRA system, there-
by reducing transport and treatment
costs as well as MWRA CSO discharges
to the Charles River.
Only HOBAS Pipe was specified for
the project and was utilized for the six
microtunneling runs on the project. P.
Gioioso & Sons Inc. was again the gener-
al contractor and subcontracted the mi-
crotunneling to Michels Corp., Browns-
ville, Wis.
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
The tunnel varied in depth to the pipe
invert from 20 to 35 ft. Michels used two
Akkerman microtunneling machines to
bore through varied ground conditions
including boulders, gravel, sand, silt and
clay. The machines jacked 10-ft sections
of 48- and 57-in. diameter Hobas pipe
into place. A 57-in. diameter pipe with
an allowable capacity of 425 U.S. tons at
a specified factor of safety of three was
installed on a 498-ft run, while the 48-in.
diameter pipe with an allowable capac-
ity of 350 U.S. tons at a specified safety
factor of three was installed in three
runs of 837, 639 and 529 ft.
Principals involved in the project
agreed that there were no significant
problems with the microtunneling and
the HOBAS pipe went into place just as
expected.
Acceptance and use of HOBAS
CCFRPM pipe has grown in the New
England region, not only for microtun-
neling, but also for sliplining, direct bury
and above-ground projects. With the
varied installation methods, corrosion
resistance and long service life, more
projects are likely on the horizon.
This article was contributed by HOBAS
Pipe USA.
The most challenging reach
of the Cambridge Park Drive
Drainage Improvements was
a 430-foot-long crossing for
electrical conduit and utilized
36-inch diameter HOBAS pipe.
M-27
11/1/2012 10:37:28 AM
 North American Microtunneling
ALABAMA
Thomasville
Raw Water Intake
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. completed the Raw Water
Intake project in June 2012. The project
was for the City of Thomasville. Permalok
steel casing was utilized. The project con-
sisted of one 30-in. diameter drive of 255
lf. The jacking shaft was 85 ft deep. There
was a water retrieval in the Alabama River,
which used a crane, a barge and divers in
order to locate and retrieve the MTBM as
it came into the river.
CALIFORNIA
Corona
Santa Ana River Interceptor (SARI)
James W. Fowler Co.
James W. Fowler Co. is completing the San-
ta Ana River Interceptor (SARI) Relocation –
SARI Mainline (Including Metering Station)
Project for Orange County’s flood control
division. Crews will use a Herrenknecht AVN
2000D for this $8.8 million project.
The project includes: 4,000 ft of 101.5-
in. OD microtunnel done in four drives
with installation of 2,900 ft of 84-in. ID
reinforced concrete pipe and 1,100 ft of
99.5-in. ID steel casing. Drive lengths are
Drive 1 – 1,567 ft; Drive 2 – 622 ft; Drive
3 – 1,089 ft; Drive 4 – 650 ft. Drive 1 is a
compound curve and will be the first uti-
lization of the Jackcontrol hydraulic joint
and real-time monitoring system in North
America. Drive 2 will also have a curve uti-
lizing the Jackcontrol hydraulic joint and
real-time monitoring system. Mixed face
conditions with cobbles and boulders be-
low the groundwater table are expected.
W.A. Rasic Construction is the general
contractor. Tetra Tech is the engineer. Tun-
neling on the first drive was expected to
begin by mid-November.
La Mirada
I-5 Widening Relocation
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. completed the I-5 Widen-
ing Relocation for Chevron Pipeline Co. in
March 2012. The project consisted of two
side-by-side 36-in. steel casing tunnels 385 ft
long each.The tunnels were used to relocate
fuel and oil pipelines. Vadnais used an Iseki
TC600. The ground conditions were a mix-
ture of clays and silts. The project was con-
structed in ground water at a depth of 25 ft.
Los Angeles
Penmar Water Quality Improvement
Project - Phase 1
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. completed this project
for the City of Los Angeles in November
M-28 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_28-31.indd 28
2011. The ground conditions consisted
mainly of sand and silt. Vadnais used an
Iseki TCC800 to push 148 lf of 42-in. Per-
malok steel casing.
Vista
Watson Way Upsizing and Realignment
James W. Fowler Co.
James W. Fowler is preparing for this
$5.7 million project for the Buena Sanita-
tion District. Crews will use a Soltau RVS
600 to install 2,580 ft of 53-in. OD micro-
tunnel done in three drives with installa-
tion of 42-in. ID reinforced concrete pipe.
Drives lengths are Drive 1 - 466 ft, Drive
2 - 1,736 ft and Drive 378 ft. Drive 2 in-
cludes a curve. Ground conditions will be
mixed face conditions with granitic mate-
rial above the groundwater table. The en-
gineer is Psomas. Tunneling is scheduled
to begin in December 2012 and the proj-
ect will be completed in July 2013.
Santa Monica
Santa Monica Low Flow Diversion
Upgrades Package 3
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. completed this project in
May 2012. Vadnais used a Soltau RVS 600
to install Permalok steel casing. The drive
was 60 lf with a depth of approximately
25 ft in sand and clay conditions.
COLORADO
Denver
Central Park Boulevard Conduit
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. completed the Conduit
151 Central Park Boulevard from Smith
Road to I-70 for Denver Water in May
2012. The project consisted of two drives
totaling 1,231 lf. The first drive was 906
lf under I-70; the second drive was 325 lf
under UPPR. Permalok steel casing was
used at a depth of approximately 20-25 ft.
Vadnais Corp. used a Herrenknecht AVN
800 to complete the project.
Denver
DIA Improvements
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. is constructing the Den-
ver International Airport STRP EWP B
Storm Sewer for Kiewit Building Group
Inc. The engineer is Jviation of Denver. It
is a single tunnel drive of 1,629 lf of 66-
in. ID RCP. Two intermediate jacking sta-
tions will be utilized on this drive. The
launch shaft is approximately 18 ft deep
and the reception shaft is approximately
52 ft deep. Tunneling is through stiff to
very stiff sandy clay. Groundwater is not
anticipated. The work is being performed
adjacent to the DIA Main Terminal be-
2012 Industry Review
neath heavily trafficked roads. Tunneling
activities occur nearby critical FAA com-
munication cables and an active 102-in.
ID Storm Sewer. The MTBM deployed is a
Herrenknecht AVN1500TB with an 82.5-
in. OD. Bid value of $4,400,000. The tun-
nel work will be completed by Dec. 15,
2012.
CONNECTICUT
Hartford
Grandby Street Area Sewer Separation
Project 2/5
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. recently
completed 2,550 ft of pipe jacking as part
of a sewer separation project. The project
includes the installation of 910 ft of 60-in.
RCP and 1,500 ft of 48-in. RCP via microtun-
neling, and 145 ft of 42-in. RCP with a con-
ventional TBM. The work was performed
under Granby Street in northwest Hartford,
between Burlington Street and Branford
Street.The soil conditions consisted primar-
ily of extremely soft silts and clays below
the ground water table. Information: Doug
Piper, dpiper@bradshawcc.com
FLORIDA
Hialeah
NW 170th Street 36-in. Water Main
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. has suc-
cessfully completed construction of a
520-lf tunnel under I-75 along NW 170th
St. The tunnel was constructed by micro-
tunnel below the water table through
limestone. The installed 52.5-in. steel cas-
ing was threaded with a 36-in. DIP as the
final product. Information: Michael Gib-
son, mgibson@bradshawcc.com.
Jacksonville
Royal Lakes Housing Project
Huxted Tunneling
Huxted Tunneling completed Jackson-
ville’s first microtunneling project as part
of 10,000-ft new force main as part of the
Royal Lakes Housing Community expan-
sion. Huxted used its Iseki Unclemole to
drive 275 ft of 42-in. steel casing under SR
115. Mixed ground conditions included
clays, silts, gravels, cobbles and boulders.
The owner is Jacksonville Electrical Au-
thority (JEA). J.B. Coxwell Contracting
was the general contractor.
Miami
MDC Thermal Plant Interconnection
Project
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. has be-
gun construction on twin chilled water
lines for Miami-Dade County and BGA
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:38:14 AM
 Inc. This general contract includes ap-
proximately 1,890 lf of 24-in. ductile iron
chilled waterline, of which 840 lf will
be in 30-in. steel casing installed in four
microtunnels. The project also includes
sitework, restoration and construction of
a taxi stand. Information: Mike Wanhatalo,
mwanhatalo@bradshawcc.com
INDIANA
Indianapolis
Castleton Relief Sewer Project – Phase I
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. has com-
pleted construction of a 2,740-ft long
relief sewer in Indianapolis. The pipeline
consists of 42-in. RCP installed by pipe
jacking, mined utilizing a microtunnel
boring machine. The downstream tie-in
was made in 71st Street at its intersec-
tion with Crittenden Avenue. From there
the tunnel continued north along Critten-
den and then east below Riverwood Park,
along the north side of Howland Ditch,
concluding on the east side of the Key-
stone Avenue bridge. Geologic conditions
consist of sands below the groundwater
table with cobbles and boulders.The proj-
www.trenchlessonline.com
U191_28-31.indd 29
ect also included the installation of six
manholes and a tie-in to the existing sys-
tem. This project was completed in May
2012. Information: Todd Brown, tbrown@
bradshawcc.com
MARYLAND
Baltimore
Improvements to Herring Run
Interceptors – Phase I
Cruz Contractors LLC
Cruz is constructing the Improvements
to Herring Run Interceptors – Phase I
project for the City of Baltimore with
a contract price of $11.7 million. The
project will be carried out in two phas-
es. Phase 1 consists of the installation of
4,120 lf of sanitary sewers ranging be-
tween 8 and 54 in. Of the 4,120 lf, 2,500 lf
is to be microtunneled. Work is about 50
percent complete.
White Marsh
I-95 Express Toll Lanes, MD 43
Interchange
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. recently
completed 460 ft of pipe jacking as part
TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
of the I-95/MD 43 interchange project.
The project included the installation of
460 ft of 90-in. steel casing via microtun-
neling for the 54-in. RCP carrier pipe that
forms a portion of the White Marsh Run
Interceptor. The work was performed un-
der I-95 northeast of Baltimore. The soil
conditions consisted primarily of clays,
silts and sands below the ground water
table. Information: Doug Piper, dpiper@
bradshawcc.com
MASSACHUSETTS
Brookline
Lower Beacon Street Sewer
Separation, Phase 2
Michels
The Lower Beacon Street Sewer Separa-
tion, Phase 2 project is a sewer and storm
drain separation project in Brookline.
The $24 million project, funded by the
Massachusetts Water Resource Author-
ity (MWRA), included a total of 4,290 lf
was installed with GBM and slurry MTBM
microtunneling systems in 11 drives and
13 shafts (five jacking shafts, five receiv-
ing shafts and three combination jacking
and receiving shafts) that ranged from
M-29
11/1/2012 10:38:15 AM
 North American Microtunneling
20-30 ft. below the street level. Michels
used Akkerman MTBM SL 52.5 and SL 60
equipment systems for traditional slurry
microtunneling runs. Encountered soil
conditions included clay, sand, and silt of-
ten with a high water table. The longest
drive was 837 lf.
NEW JERSEY
Carteret
Turnpike Sanitary Sewer Crossing
Cruz Contractors LLC
Cruz Contractors LLC is building the
$2.2 million Turnpike Sanitary Sewer
Crossing project for the Borough of Cart-
eret. The project generally consists of mi-
crotunnel installation of approximately
760 lf of 30-in. sanitary sewer interceptor
in a 48-in. casing under the New Jersey
Turnpike, installation of approximately
155 lf of 8-, 21- and 30-in. gravity sewers
in the adjacent area, and lining an exist-
ing 24-in. sanitary sewer. Work is about 10
percent complete.
Weehawken
18th Street Pumping Station CSO
Force Main and Outfall
Cruz Contractors LLC
Cruz Contractors LLC is constructing
the 18th Street Pumping Station CSO
Force Main and Outfall with a contract
price of $3.6 million. The work includes
the installation of approximately 270 lf
of 48-in. forcemain using open-cut exca-
vation and approximately 290 lf of 48-in.
forcemain to be installed in a 66-in. micro-
tunneled casing.Work is about 50 percent
complete.
NEW YORK
New York
MTA Crossings
Cruz Contractors LLC
Cruz Contractors LLC was hired by Tu-
tor Perini to install 2,200 lf of 48-in. RCP
by microtunneling for 15 crossings under
the MTA railroad in Queens. This sub-
contact is valued at $6.9 million. Work is
about 50 percent complete.
Staten Island
Richmond Valley Road Sanitary and
Storm Sewers
Cruz Contractors LLC
This project for the City of New York
Department of Design and Construction
Division of Infrastructure involves the
construction of 1,400 lf of 12-in. RCP
sanitary sewer in direct-jacked 30-in. steel
sleeve. The project consists of two drives
of 800 lf and 600 lf with a maximum
depth of 40 ft. Soil consists of silty sand.
The project also includes one 900-ft drive
M-30 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_28-31.indd 30
of 36-in. RCP sanitary sewer with a maxi-
mum depth of 42 ft, also in silty sand. The
overall contract value is $21,895,780 with
microtunneling valued at $4,800,000.
Cruz expects to start the project in Octo-
ber and finish by mid-2014.
Staten Island
Woodrow Road Sanitary and Storm
Sewers
Cruz Contractors LLC
This project for the City of New York
Department of Design and Construction
Division of Infrastructure involves the
construction of 1,800 lf 42-in. RCP sani-
tary sewer in three drives of 600 lf each
in clay/silty material at depths of up to
45 ft. Crews are using a Herrenknecht
1000. The total contract value is $11.9
million with microtunneling valued at
$2.4 million. Cruz began the project in
March and expect to be finished by June
2014. The project is currently 33 per-
cent complete.
NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh
Crabtree Basin Wastewater
Conveyance Improvements – Phase 1
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. is start-
ing construction on three tunnels totaling
660 ft by pipejacking 60- and 72-in. Ho-
bas pipe behind microtunnel boring ma-
chines. The tunnels cross under existing
pipelines and roadways. Subsurface condi-
tions range from hard granite to loose allu-
vium below the water table. Information:
Eric Eisold; eeisold@bradshawcc.com.
OHIO
Akron
Massillon Road Sewer
Michels Tunneling
Michels Tunneling installed 42-in. and
48-in. sewer pipe for the City of Akron as
part of the Massillon Road Sewer project.
The project included seven 35-ft deep
shafts and six tunnel runs totaling 4,253
ft — 1,328 ft of 48-in. tunnel and 2,925 ft
of 42-in. tunnel. Tunnel runs ranged from
300 ft to more than 1,000 ft. The project
is part of a major upgrade to the sanitary
sewer system in Akron.
Cleveland
Euclid Creek Tunnel
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. is working on the Euclid
Creek Tunnel project for the Northeast
Ohio Regional Sewer District. As of Oc-
tober 2012, Vadnais Corp. has completed
three 42-in. diameter drives of 629, 845
and 629 lf. Hobas pipe is installed using
2012 Industry Review
a Herrenknecht AVN 800. In 2013, Vadnais
Corp. will install approximately 237 lf of
72-in. Hobas pipe using a Soltau RVS 600.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence
Woonasquatucket CSO Interceptor
Super Excavators Inc.
Super Excavators Inc. is preparing to
begin the microtunneling on the Woon-
asquatucket CSO Interceptor Project
(Contract No. 303.03C) for the Narragan-
sett Bay Commission. Super Excavators is
the microtunneling subcontractor for the
general contractor, Barletta Heavy/Shank/
Balfour Beatty JV.
Microtunneling consists of 3,980 lf of
72-in. diameter pipe, 2,072 lf of 60-in. di-
ameter pipe, 1,540 lf of 54-in. diameter
pipe, 3,350 lf of 48-in. diameter pipe, 788
lf of 42-in. diameter pipe, 120 lf of 36-in. di-
ameter pipe and 608 lf of 30-in. diameter
pipe. All the tunneling will be performed
using Akkerman MTBMs of various size
Personnel on the project include: Proj-
ect Supervisor: Brian Strane; Project Man-
ager: Shawn Stockwell;Tunnel Superinten-
dent: Nate Wiedmeyer.
The value of the microtunneling work
is $14.8 million. Jacobs is the engineer
for the project in association with CH2M
HILL and GRA.
TEXAS
Houston
Hillcroft Avenue Waterline
Vadnais Corp.
Vadnais Corp. used a Soltau RVS 600 to
complete a 42-in. waterline along Hillcroft
Avenue for the City of Houston. The proj-
ect involved the installation of 325 lf of
60-in. Permalok steel casing under High-
way US 90A and the UPPR tracks. The
ground conditions were mainly dense
clay. The project was completed in Octo-
ber 2012.
VIRGINIA
Fairfax
I-66 Sanitary Sewer Crossing
Bradshaw Construction Corp.
Bradshaw Construction Corp. is pre-
paring to install 330 ft of 60-in. steel cas-
ing and 18-in. sewer pipe as part of the
I-66 Sanitary Sewer Crossing project.
The casing will be installed by pipe jack-
ing, mined utilizing a microtunnel bor-
ing machine. The ground conditions are
predominantly sand and silt below the
ground water table; however, some rock
will also likely be encountered. Work for
this project began in early August 2012.
Information: Elliott Bradshaw, ebrad-
shaw@bradshawcc.com.
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 10:38:15 AM
 North American Microtunneling Products
AKKERMAN MICROTUNNELING SYSTEMS
Akkerman microtunneling systems are a fusion of high productivity, dependability and accuracy for
gravity flow pipelines requiring exact line and grade in poor soil conditions. Standard MTBMs are avail-
able from 30- to 74-in. OD and can be fitted with increase kits to accommodate larger pipe diameters.
Akkerman MTBMs feature a project-appropriate cutterhead for precise ground excavation. Akkerman
control containers, the information center for all microtunneling functions, house the control console,
motor controls for slurry pumps, MTBM drive motor and bulkhead panel.The Akkerman line of keyhole
jacking frames allows customers to operate a high-capacity jacking frame out of a minimal launch shaft.
Collectively, keyhole jacking frames operate out of a 16- to 24-ft shaft and feature 800 to 1,200 tons of
thrust capacity at 8,000 psi.

EZEBREAK MICRO-BLASTER
The revolutionary Micro-Blaster IIx3 System allows users to break rock and concrete in almost any location
quickly and economically. Extremely portable, weighing only 20 lbs, the system requires only 5/16-in. diameter
drilled holes 10- to 16-in. deep, further saving time and equipment costs. Utilizing proprietary cartridge tech-
nology, the system is capable of breaking competent material from a few hundred to several thousand pounds.
Used by builders, excavators, landscapers, rural landowners, rescue personnel and mine workers, Micro-Blaster
Systems solve difficult demolition problems quickly and easily. Micro-Blaster systems are exempted from Cana-
dian and U.S. Federal Blasting Regulations and do not require licensing in most locations. Available in single head
versions for smaller projects.

HAYWARD BAKER GEOTECHNICAL CONSTRUCTION

Hayward Baker, a North American leader in geotechnical construction and a member of the world-
wide Keller Group of companies, has decades of experience with the full range of geotechnical con-
struction techniques to solve a variety of microtunneling issues. Jet grouting and soil mixing stabilize
soft soils prior to tunneling. Jet grouting and soil mixing create tangent or secant pile shafts for tunnel
access. Jet grouting, chemical grouting and cement grouting stabilize soils around break-ins and break-outs and control groundwater.
Anchors, shotcrete and grouting techniques stabilize tunnel liners. Compaction grouting densifies loose soil under tunnel alignments,
and helps relevel MTBMs. Fracture grouting, chemical grouting and compaction grouting control settlement of overlying structures dur-
ing tunnel boring. Whatever the size of the project, Hayward Baker has the experience and technology to provide an innovative, robust
and cost-effective solution.

HOBAS PIPE USA

Hobas Pipe USA has been manufacturing centrifugally cast, fiberglass-reinforced, polymer mortar (CCFRPM) pipe
at its Houston plant since 1987, and recently expanded its diameter range. It now offers pipes ranging from 18 to 126
in. in diameter, with capabilities to produce even larger sizes. The expansion includes a 120-in. diameter that will be
supplied to the City of Houston’s Northside Sewer Relief Tunnel, Area 5, which will be used to rehabilitate over a mile
of existing 132-in. monolithic concrete. CCFRPM is inherently corrosion resistant and lasts 100 years or more. Applica-
tions include storm and sanitary sewers, potable water, force mains, outfalls, industrial effluents and other corrosive
environments. Hobas is ideal for virtually every installation method including open cut, sliplining, jacking, microtunnel-
ing, two-pass tunnel, casing carrier and above ground. Hobas is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified and exceeds the product
standards for sanitary sewer pipe.

MUNRO LTD. MICROTUNNELING PIPE

Munro Ltd. now offers microtunneling pipe designed specifically to suit MTBMs and ground conditions.
The pipe is ideally suited as a tunnel liner or for direct conveyance of fluids. Pipes join together easily with
gasketed joints. Pipes with lubrication ports can be provided to lubricate the overcut annulus during pipe
drives. Once the tunnel is complete, the lubrication ports can be used to grout the annulus. Provide the in-
ternal diameter and external diameter, jacking forces and loading conditions and Munro Ltd. will design the
pipe to suit the application.

VERMEER AXIS BORING SYSTEM

Underground contractors now have a new option for the trenchless installation of critical grade water and
sewer lines.The AXIS guided boring system from Vermeer is a pit-launched, laser-guided tool to install 10- to 14-in.
pipe.The system can achieve pinpoint, on-grade accuracy and has the ability to install pipe up to up to 350 ft in
length, ideal for manhole-to-manhole applications. Spoil is removed from the cutterhead via a vacuum excavation
system, thus keeping the pit clean.The system can either push or pull the product pipe into place, providing flex-
ibility in the type of product installed. The AXIS system is made up of four main components — the power unit,
rack, vacuum pump and vacuum tank.Various setup configurations can be used to adjust the machine’s footprint
based on jobsite and transport characteristics.

www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-31

U191_28-31.indd 31 11/1/2012 10:38:24 AM

 North American Microtunneling
CONTRACTORS
Bradshaw Construction
Corp.
Lester M. Bradshaw, President
Eric Eisold, Area Mgr.
173 West Liberty Rd..
Eldersburg, MD 21784
United States
410-970-8300
lester.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com
www.bradshawcc.com
Large Diameter Tunneling,
Microtunneling, Pipe Jacking,
Shafts,Tunneling-Large Diameter
BRH-Garver Construction
Peck Boswell, President
Phil Reed, VP Estimating
7600 S. Santa Fe, Bldg. A-1
East Houston,TX 77061
713-921-2929
peckboswell@brhgarver.com
www.brhgarver.com
BTrenchless
9885 Emporia St.
Henderson, CO 80640-8459
303-286-0202
www.BTrenchless.com
Carp-Seca
Stephen Leius
77 Bloomfield Ave.
Staten Island, NY 10314
410-477-6655
softground@aol.com
Cruz Contractors LLC
Dominic Pillari,
Chief Project Mgr.
952 Holmdel Rd.
Holmdel, NJ 07733
732-946-8400
dpillari@cruzcontractors.com
www.cruzcontractors.com
Pipe Jacking, Microtunneling,
Shafts, Pipe Jacking, Shafts
D’Agostini & Sons
15801 23 Mile Road
Macomb, MI 48042
586-781-5800
ECI
Ross Johnson, VP
PO Box 7095
St. Paul, MN 55107
657-298-9111
robb@eandci.com
www.eandci.com
Grouting, Dewatering,
Microtunneling, Shafts,
Demolition
E E Cruz & Co. Inc.
Edward Cruz
952 Holmdel Rd., Cruz Plaza
Holmdel, NJ 07733
732-946-9700
www.eeccruz.com
M-32 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
U191_32-36.indd 32
EIC Associates
140 Mountain Ave., Suite 303
Springfield, NJ 07081
973-315-0200
www.eicassociates.com
Frank Coluccio
Construction Co.
Don Bergman, Cheif Estimator
Bill Austell, Senior Estimator/PM
9600 Martin Luther King Way
South
Seattle, WA 98118-5693
United States
206-722-5306
info@coluccio.com
www.coluccio.com
Grouting, Shafts, Pipe Jacking,
Microtunneling, Dewatering,
Auger Boring, Relining,Tunnel
Linings,Tunnel Support, Jet
Grouting, Large Diameter
Tunneling, Drilling, Shafts,
Microtunneling, Pipe Jacking ,
Tunneling-Large Diameter
Horizontal Boring &
Tunneling Co.
Brent L. Moore, President
505 S. River Ave.
PO Box 429
Exeter, NE 68351 United States
402-266-5347
horizontalboring@hbttrenchless.com
Auger Boring ,Tunneling-
Large Diameter, Pipe Jacking,
Microtunneling, Auger Boring,
Large Diameter Tunneling,
Drilling, Microtunneling, Pipe
Jacking , Grouting, Grouting
Huxted Tunneling
Steve Caneen, President
3208 17th St.
East Palmetto, FL 34221
941-722-6613
scaneen@huxtedtunneling.com
www.huxtedtunneling.com
Iowa Trenchless
Jason Clark
PO Box 846, 222 SE 12th St.
Panora, IA 50216
641-755-4692
iowatrenchless@msn.com
www.iowatrenchless.com
James W. Fowler Co.
John Fowler, VP
Sondra Jamison,
Marketing Manager
PO Box 489
Dallas, OR 97338 USA
503-623-5373
johnf@jwfowler.com
www.jwfowler.com
Large Diameter Tunneling Tunnel
Linings Relining Auger Boring
Microtunneling Pipe Jacking
Shafts Tunneling-Large Diameter
2012 Industry Review
Jay Dee Contractors Inc
Tom DiPonio
3881 Schoolcraft Rd.
Livonia, MI 48150 USA
734-591-3400
www.jaydeecontr.com
Large Diameter Tunneling,
Large Diameter Shaft Drilling,
Dewatering, Microtunneling,
Pipe Jacking, Shafts,Tunneling-
Large Diameter
JR Cruz Corp.
Evarett Cruz Jr., P.E.
675 Line Rd.
Aberdeen, NJ 07747
732-290-0700
jrcruz99@aol.com
www.jrcruz.com
Kiewit Construction Co
1000 Kiewit Plaza
Suite E200
Omaha, NE 68131
402-346-8535
www.kiewit.com
Drilling, Tunneling-Large
Diameter, Shafts, Pipe Jacking,
Microtunneling, Relining,
Tunnel Linings, Tunnel Support,
Large Diameter Shaft Drilling,
Raise Bore, Jet Grouting, Slurry
Wall, Ground Freezing &
Dewatering, Large Diameter
Tunneling, Grouting
Lametti & Sons Inc.
Guy Larson, VP
PO Box 375
Hugo, MN 55038 United States
651-426-1380
guy1@lametti.com
www.lametti.com
Auger Boring , Relining, Seals,
Auger Boring, Dewatering,
Microtunneling, Pipe Jacking,
Shafts, Tunneling-Large
Diameter, Tunnel Linings,
Tunnel Support, Large
Diameter Shaft Drilling,
Grouting, Pipe Jacking ,
Dewatering, Microtunneling,
Drilling, Large Diameter
Tunneling, Grouting, Design/
Build, Cost Estimation
Michels Tunneling
Ray Post
16500 W. Rogers Dr.
New Berlin, WI 53151
United States
262-814-0100
www.michels.com
Pipe Jacking , Microtunneling,
Shafts, Drilling, Large Diameter
Tunneling, Large Diameter
Shaft Drilling
Midwest Mole
Dan Liotti, PE, President
Jason Miller, VP
2460 N Graham Av.
Indianapolis, IN 46218 USA
317-545-1335
info@midwestmole.com
www.midwestmole.com
Large Diameter Tunneling,
Relining, Microtunneling,
Pipe Jacking,Tunneling-Large
Diameter, Other
Nada Pacific Corp.
P.O. Box 8
Caruthers, CA 93609
559-864-8850
www.nadapacific.com
Northeast Remsco
Construction Inc.
Alberto Solana, Sr.VP Engineering
Richard Palmer,
Tunneling Manager
1433 Route 34 South
Building B
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
United States
732-557-6100
asolana@superna.com
www.superna.com
Large Diameter Tunneling, Divers,
Auger Boring, Microtunneling,
Pipe Jacking, Grouting
Northwest Boring Co. Inc.
Don Gonzales
13248 NE 177th Pl.
Woodinville, WA 98072
425-483-9191
northwestboring@aol.com
Auger Boring , Rock Drilling ,
Pipe Jacking , Pipe Ramming ,
Microtunneling
Southland Contracting, Inc.
616A Shelby Rd.
Fort Worth,TX 76140 USA
817-293-4263
info@scitunneling.com
www.scitunneling.com
Drilling,Tunneling-Large
Diameter, Shafts, Pipe Jacking,
Microtunneling, Dewatering,
Divers, Large Diameter Shaft
Drilling, Jet Grouting, Ground
Freezing & Dewatering, Large
Diameter Tunneling, Grouting
Super Excavators Inc.
Pete Schraufnagel, VP
N59 W 14601 Bobolink Ave.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53951
262-252-3200
Pete@superexcavators.com
Auger Boring , Microtunneling,
Tunneling-Large Diameter,
Sliplining, Pipe Ramming , Pipe
Jacking , Grouting, Pipe Bursting/
Splitting , Pipe Fusion , Shafts
www.trenchlessonline.com
11/1/2012 4:35:17 PM
 Taisei Corporation 58256 266th St. Microtunneling Inc. 102 Bales Dr East
Alan Hobelman, VP of US Office Brownsdale, MN 55918 Timothy R. Coss PO Box 93089
Tsutomu Segawa, General Manager United States PO Box 7367 Newmarket, ON L3Y 8K3
6261 Katella Ave. 800-533-0386 Boulder, CO 80306 Canada
Irvine, CA 90630 USA Fax: 507-567-2605 303-444-2650 905-898-4889
714-886-1530 akk@akkerman.com timcoss@microtunneling.com technicoretunnel@msn.com
ahobelman@taisei.com www.akkerman.com www.microtunneling.com www.technicore.ca
www.taisei.co.jp Pipe Jacking, Microtunneling, Cutters, Pipe-Polymer Concrete, Grouting, Pipe Jacking ,
Tunneling-Large Diameter, Shafts, Large Diameter Tunneling, Mud Recycling, Locators, Microtunneling, Shafts, Drilling,
Pipe Jacking, Microtunneling, Microtunneling Systems/ Mud Systems, Microtunneling Drills & Rigs, Microtunneling
Demolition,Tunnel Linings,Tunnel Equipment,Tunnel Boring Systems/Equipment, Lubrication, Systems/Equipment,Tunnel
Support, Large Diameter Shaft Machines, Used/Rental Solids Control/Separation, Boring Machines,Tunnel Linings
Drilling, Jet Grouting, Slurry Wall, Equipment, Machine Service/ Disputes Review, Education/
Ground Freezing & Dewatering, Repair Research, General Consulting The Robbins Company
Large Diameter Tunneling,Tunnel 29100 Hall St.
Inspections, Design/Build American Augers Inc. TBM Exchange International Solon, OH 44139
PO Box 814 Peter J.Tarkoy 440-248-3308
Triad Engineering West Salem, OH 44287 17 Everett St. sales@robbinstbm.com
& Contracting Co. 419-869-7107 Sherborn, MA 1770 United www.robbinstbm.com
Clifford Kassouf www.americanaugers.com States Auger Boring,Tunneling
Phil Kassouf Guided Boring Equipment, 508-650-3600 Products,Tunnel Boring
7575 Northfield Road Mud Systems pjt@tbmexchange.com Machines
Walton Hills, OH 44146 www.tbmexchange.com
440-786-1000 Barbco Cutters, Microtunneling Vermeer
triad@triad-engineering.com 315 Pekin Ave., SE Systems/Equipment,Tunnel 1210 Vermeer Rd. East
www.triad-engineering.com East Canton, OH 44730 Boring Machines, Used/Rental Pella, IA 50219
Large Diameter Tunneling, 330-488-9400 Equipment 641-628-3141
Large Diameter Shaft Drilling, info@barbco.com salesinfo@vermeer.com
Tunnel Support ,Tunnel Linings www.barbco.com Technicore www.vermeer.com
, Auger Boring, Dewatering, Pipe Auger Boring, Microtunneling Underground Corp. Vacuum Boring Systems
Jacking, Shafts, Grouting Systems/Equipment, Used/ Tony DiMillo, President
Rental Equipment,Tunnel Lynn Jackson, VP
Vadnais Corp. Boring Machines
Paul Vadnais, President
Dan Schitea, VP Herrenknecht Tunnelling
2130 La Mirada Drive Systems USA Inc.
Vista, CA 92081 1221 29th St. NW Ste. D
858-550-1460 Auburn, WA 98001
info@vadnaiscorp.com 253-833-7366
www.vadnaiscorp.com jbrockway@herrenknecht-usa.com
Microtunneling www.herrenknecht.de
Cutters, Microtunneling
Walter C. Smith Co., Inc. Systems/Equipment, Used/
Ben Genco, Administrative Rental Equipment, Survey/
Assistant Guidance Instrumentation
849 Osmun Circe
Clovis, CA 93612 Icon Equipment
559-299-9727 Distributors Inc.
miked@waltercsmith.com Brian Crandall
www.waltercsmith.com 300 Ryders Lane
Auger Boring , Pipe Jacking , East Brunswick, NJ 08816
Pipe Ramming ,Tunneling-Large 800-836-5011
Diameter, Microtunneling b.crandall@iconjds.com
www.iconjds.com
Willco Far West Microtunneling Systems/
Frank Willden, CEO Equipment, Guided Boring
3435 W. 500 S. Equipment, Used/Rental
Salt Lake City, UT 84104 United Equipment
States
801-886-2111 Michael Byrne Mfg.
contact@willcofarwest.com Jim Weist
www.willcofarwest.com 1855 Earth Boring Rd.,
Auger Boring , Pipe Jacking , PO Box 444
Microtunneling, Drilling, Large Mansfield, OH 44901
Diameter Tunneling 419-525-1214
jweist@byrnegear.com
BORING MACHINE www.byrnegroup.com
MANUFACTURERS/ Rock Bits, Used/Rental
SUPPLIERS Equipment, Guided Boring
Akkerman Inc. Equipment, Microtunneling
Steve Garbisch, Sales & Leasing Systems/Equipment,
Robin Lorenzen, Sales & Leasing Engineering/Design

www.trenchlessonline.com TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT M-33

U191_32-36.indd 33 11/1/2012 4:35:18 PM

 North American Microtunneling 2012 Industry Review

ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE

Barbco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-7 2013 Microtunneling Short Course. . . . . . . . . . . . M-5
WWW.BARBCO.COM WWW.MICROTUNNELING.COM

Benjamin Media Resource Center . . . . . . . . . . . . M-3 Microtunneling, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK COVER

WWW.BENJAMINMEDIA.COM/BOOK-STORE WWW.MICROTUNNELING.COM

BMI Buyer’s Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-34 NASTT’s 2013 No-Dig Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-35

WWW.BMI-BUYERSGUIDE.COM WWW.NODIGSHOW.COM

Bradshaw Construction Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-33 Northeast Remsco Construction Inc. . . . . . . . . . M-31

WWW.BRADSHAWCC.COM WWW.NORTHEASTREMSCO.COM

Brierley Associates LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-13 Permalok Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-19

WWW.BRIERLEYASSOCIATES.COM WWW.PERMALOK.COM

Brierley Associates LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-34 U.S. Composite Pipe South, LLC (USCPS). . . . . . M-9
WWW.BRIERLEYASSOCIATES.COM WWW.FLOWTITEPIPE.COM

KingKong Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-17 Ward & Burke Construction Limited. . . . . . . . . . M-15

WWW.KINGKONG-TOOLS.COM WWW.WARDAND BURKE.COM

w w w. t u n n e l i n g o n l i n e . c o m

M-34 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT www.trenchlessonline.com

U191_32-36.indd 34 11/1/2012 4:35:22 PM

U191_32-36.indd 35 11/1/2012 4:35:24 PM
 CONGRATULATIONS
to Frank Coluccio Construction
Longest Curved Microtunneling Project and the
First Compound Curve Drive in the US. 1,225 feet

5 Drives Totaling 5,800 feet x 81.6”/85” OD Pipe

OWNER
City and County of Honolulu
PROJECT
Beachwalk Force Main phase 1

Microtunneling Engineering by Yogi Kwong Engineers

Machine by Rasa Industries
Guidance by Tokyo Keiki
Ancillary Equipment by Microtunneling, Inc.

U191_32-36.indd 36 11/1/2012 4:35:25 PM