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The Need for Trenchless Technology Education |
By Dr. Alan Atalah, P.E. Ph.D
Associate Professor and MIT Graduate Coordinator of Technology at Bowling Green State University.
The driving forces behind the rapid trenchless technology growth in North America are the need for trenchless solutions in urban areas and relentless innovation and collaboration to fulfill these needs. We currently install new pipes and replace and rehab old pipes using trenchless technology in many small towns and suburbs across North America. It is anticipated that trenchless construction methods will be the primary method for installing underground utilities in urban environment in the near future; education is the key for making this future come sooner.
ASCE evaluated the American underground infrastructures and gave them average grades of D and F. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the annual gap between the current budget allocations to water and wastewater infrastructures and the needed funded to be $35 billion. The awareness of the U.S. population of this funding gap and its consequences on their health and quality of life is the key for finding and agreeing on the best means to meet this funding gap.
The democratic system is among the best in the world, and periodically electing our leaders brings many benefits to our society. However, this creates a conflict between the short-term interests and long-term ones. We strive to serve our best interest, and the short-term interest of our leaders is to be re-elected. This leads to investing our limited funds in projects that bring the highest return on investment in terms of getting re-elected. Unfortunately, underground infrastructures are not visible unless they reach their extreme limits and cause serious problems at much higher cost to rehab or replace.
Continued
Reprinted with permission from Trenchless Technology-July 2008 Issue. |
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SSC Breaking New Ground |
Vacuum Excavation Project for ESI Contracting
at Higley & McKellips, Mesa AZ
Recently ESI contracted with SSC to expose an existing storm drain identified using reliable As-Builts and an electronic locating device, 19 ft. below the surface.
This was a challenging project for SSC as accessibility to the buried storm drain was such an unusual distance from the Vacuum truck.
An area 15 ft. x 40 ft. wide x 15 ft. deep was excavated with a track hoe to allow the SSC vacuum system to excavate the last 4 ft. and safely expose the storm drain.
SSC uses the System 4000 Vacuum Excavator that utilizes 95% air at a volume of 100+ PSI and 5% water to break up soil in record time. This powerful air-vacuum system allowed SSC to span the distance between the system and the excavation site and expose the utility as successfully as if it had been a routine potholing project.
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