VIEWPOINT | TRENCHLESS & MICROTUNNELING
SMALL BORES, BIG IMPACTS
Views shared with TTNA on the trends and advances in the trenchless and microtunneling markets
In conversations with industry, TTNA asked what is seen happening in the trends and activities in the trenchless, no-dig and microtunneling markets. We are pleased to briefly share a range of responses
reflecting on North American and international experience.
VIEWPOINT: BLACK & VEATCH Aswathy Sivaram, Tunnel Business Planning Lead, Black & Veatch “Major conveyance projects are being planned and executed across North America. “Trenchless installations have picked up momentum
over the past 10+ years and we continue to see an uptick in projects. “Trenchless intakes and outfalls are popping up in our
clients’ radars. “Outside of the traditional water/waste water
markets, we are also seeing interest in the trenchless industry from power producers and process industries. “The need to repair and rehabilitate aging
infrastructure and to meet regulatory compliance is also driving an increase in condition assessment and rehabilitation projects. We have also observed that once owners get a taste
of a well-executed trenchless project, they come to rely on and become trenchless champions. Communities, in general, prefer trenchless work to open excavations due to minimal disruptions to their quality of life.’
The company recently completed work on project
to construct a micro-tunneled water intake under the Missouri River, in Washburn, ND. A microtunnel boring machine (MTBM), named ‘Pamela’, was used to excavate and install a raw water intake and associated 72” Permalok pipeline under the Missouri.
VIEWPOINT: BESSAC Bernard Catalano, Tunneling Business Development Manager North America, Bessac “On the microtunneling side, especially in the international side, we noticed that the internal diameter of the microtunnels is slowly increasing which allows the length of the tunnel drives to increase as well. “Moreover, microtunneling contractors feel more and
more comfortable to implement curves which eliminate intermediate shafts.” The larger diameters allow some access for
personnel “to maintain the equipment and intervene in the front of the face to change cutting tools,” which in turn means that reliance on shafts to help withy maintenance is reduced. Fewer shafts allow for smoother alignments, too,
allowing hydraulic efficiency of the infrastructure to improve. The alignments are smoother rather than sections connected by shafts, like lines joined by nodes. This creates possibilities for different choices of
alignments, and perhaps slightly shorter overall, at times – such as case for a project in Ecuador recently.
Above: ‘Pamela’, the MTBM used to excavate and install a raw water intake and associated 72” Permalok pipeline under the Missouri River in Washburn, ND PHOTO CREDIT: BLACK & VEATCH
20 | Spring 2023
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