24 JULY 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Crossing the Sabine Neches Waterway with HDD Technology Adapted from Information by GeoEngineers When the City of Port Arthur, Texas, needed to install a pipeline under the Sabine Neches Waterway to carry water from Port Arthur to an industrial facility 12 miles away in Louisiana, they turned to a unique variation of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) - the Direct Pipe® method. The Direct Pipe solution combines traditional HDD technology with microtunnelling machinery to get the job done safely and with less disruption to the area. This was a complicated crossing with several obstacles including an active railroad, busy highway, a residential area, and even a hurricane flood protection levee. Although the project originally planned on using traditional HDD methods, the GeoEngineers team recommended using the innovative Direct Pipe approach after initial geotechnical exploration drilling indicated HDD could create unsafe fracturing of the soils beneath the levee. Having used Direct Pipe technology before, the GeoEngineers design team were confident about recommending the Direct Pipe process, which significantly lowered the risk. The team, led by principal Jon Robison, submitted its design plan to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for approval, and received the first Direct Pipe permit for a crossing near a USACE-regulated levee. Arceneaux Wilson & Cole, LLC, selected Strike Construction and Laney Directional Drilling Company as construction contractors to perform the installation in accordance with GeoEngineers’ calculations and engineering design. Working with Direct Pipe manufacturer Herrenknecht, the design team developed a new method for estimating the downhole pressures prior to construction to expedite the USACE permitting process. The significant length of the crossing, at over 3450 feet, led the design team to recommend using a 48-inch-diameter Direct Pipe thruster and a 48-inch steel casing to house and protect the 30-inch HDPE waterline within. This was a proud moment for all involved as the project successfully completed the first Direct Pipe crossing of a USACEregulated levee in the United States, and the longest Direct Pipe crossing in North America at the time, in just 32 days without any significant, unplanned delays. Photo courtesy of Laney Directional Drilling Company. DIR This is just a sneak peek ~ visit www.worldwidedrillingresource.com/gallery.html for more photos online! Aquateck reps all decked out for Halloween night! Jerry and the WWDR Team on Halloween night! Tom was there for Variperm. All dressed up for Halloween night! Trevor, Bob, & Justin for Mitsubishi Materials U.S.A. Western Drilling Tools had their grandsons to help. Keynote Speaker Levi Stanford and assistants. ALBERTA WATER WELL DRILLING ASSOCIATION Halloween Theme 2023
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