28 FEBRUARY 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Why is HDD Important? Adapted from Information by the Heavy Equipment College Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is more cost-effective than opencut drilling; because it is speedier than most drilling systems, the cost of storing equipment is reduced greatly. Due to HDD’s minimally invasive nature, a limited amount of dirt is disturbed, reducing the need to restore surrounding land. It is an environmentally friendly approach to product pipe drilling due to its limited soil displacement and minimal digging length requirement. While a hole is dug at the beginning of the tube, limited to no landscaping is destroyed in the process, reducing the time and money spent on job cleanup. HDD is adaptable to many site-specific issues and products. It can be used to lay pipes for water, sewer lines, cable lines, under roadways, culverts, bodies of water, and locations where the pipe needs to bend. It limits the spread of soil contamination aboveground due to its ability to push soil to one side of the hole during drilling. Additionally, due to the pipes’ longlasting nature, contaminated soil should not be able to penetrate the pipes. HDDs are difficult to damage during the drilling installation process due to their durable material makeup, resulting in longer working performance and positioning accuracy. Some pipes are placed under bridges straddling waterways in certain regions, and it is possible the pipe’s lifespan can be reduced by 50 - 75%. However, because of their accuracy and steerability, HDD makes it increasingly easier to install pipelines underneath bodies of water and concrete infrastructure. HDD
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