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Trenchmark Underground Co.Trenchless Contractor
Bundled conduit curving out of red clay at the edge of an open bore pit.

Capabilities › HDD

Horizontal Directional Drilling

Steerable bores that go under the obstacle and come back up on the far side.

How it works

The short version

A pilot bore is steered along a designed profile, then reamed and the carrier pipe is pulled back through it. Nothing above the crossing is touched, which is why HDD is the method of choice under a river, a five-lane highway or a parking lot the owner cannot close.

Where it fits

  • River, creek and wetland crossings
  • Highway crossings with no lane closure
  • Fiber and duct bank under developed corridors
  • Water and force main through congested downtowns

What you get from us

  • Designed bore profile before we mobilise
  • As-drilled log with rod-by-rod pitch and depth
  • Frac-out contingency plan on every wet crossing
  • Post-installation mandrel or pressure test
Our range for HDD
Maximum pipe diameter36 in
Maximum single shot2,200 ft
Typical depth of cover8 – 60 ft
Pipe materialsHDPE, fusible PVC, steel
Rig sizes on the yard20k to 100k lb pullback

On the edge of that range?

Those are the numbers we will put our name to on a bid. If your crossing is longer, deeper or wider than what is listed, say so - sometimes the answer is a different method, and sometimes it is a straight no. Both are more useful than a number we cannot hit.

Ask about your crossing

References

HDD jobs we have finished

Owner, diameter and length - the detail an engineer actually checks.

  • Horizontal Directional Drilling at Waccamaw River force main crossing, Horry County, SC

    Waccamaw River force main crossing

    Owner
    Regional water & sewer authority
    Location
    Horry County, SC
    Size
    24 in HDPE
    Length
    1,850 ft

    A single shot under the river and both floodplains, kept 38 ft below the channel bottom with no in-water work and no disturbance to the wetland on either bank.

  • Horizontal Directional Drilling at Gas distribution main relocation, Florence, SC

    Gas distribution main relocation

    Owner
    Investor-owned gas utility
    Location
    Florence, SC
    Size
    8 in MDPE
    Length
    4,200 ft in eleven shots

    Relocated ahead of a road-widening project through an occupied corridor, working to the operator’s construction procedure with their inspector on site daily.

The other three methods

  • Auger BoringAuger

    Jacked steel casing on grade, the standard for rail and highway crossings.

    • Casing diameter: 12 – 72 in
    • Maximum single drive: 600 ft

  • Pilot Tube Guided BorePilot tube

    Line-and-grade accuracy for small gravity sewer in tight quarters.

    • Product pipe diameter: 8 – 30 in
    • Maximum drive length: 400 ft

  • MicrotunnelingMTBM

    Remote-operated tunnelling for deep, wet and unforgiving ground.

    • Finished diameter: 30 – 96 in
    • Maximum drive length: 1,000 ft between shafts