When Rock Changes the Plan

The best plans can be undone by ROCK. This project involved the placement of 3,777 feet in the form of 3 – 6-inch HDPE conduits. The project was to be built utilizing horizontal directional drilling (HDD). In the last 1,200 feet the drilling was stopped when rock was encountered.

In urban and suburban utility work the projects are often measured in feet. In any season there are many small projects involving underground electric cable and fiber placement, in conduits. It is rare to receive a geo-technical report with the IFB (issued for bid drawings). For this reason, surprises occur, and adaptations must be made to maintain progress.

Electric Conduit Construction (ECC) dealt with this issue by immediately contacting our customer and offering a plan. At the time of the initial consultation, we did not know the extent of the remaining subsurface rock.

It turned out that ECC made the right decision to bring in a 320 series track hoe and hydraulic breaker head. This machine was used to breakout and remove 1,200 feet of rock and achieve the desired depth for the open cut and burial of 3 – 6 inch HDPE conduits.

ECC maintained the original project schedule and budget by reacting quickly, planning, collaborating with their customers and executing.

ECC would like to hear about your next project, discuss budgetary estimates and constructability. We partner with our customers to give them high quality work, completed safely and on time. If you wish to talk to one of our project managers pleas click on “Request a Project’ of call Carl Oko at 630-360-7903.