When Rock Changes the Plan

ROCK can stop the best planned project. This project involved the placement of 3,777 feet of 1 - 6 inch HDPE conduit with 3 - 1.5 inch innerducts. The project was to be built utilizing horizontal directional drilling (HDD). In the last 1,200 feet the drilling was stopped when, unexpectedly, 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. These projects may be several hundred or a few thousand feet in length. It is rare to receive a geotechnical report with the IFB (issued for bid) drawings. For this reason, surprises occur, and adaptations must be made to maintain progress. This calls for excellent communication skills between ECC, the customer and all stakeholders. It also means that Project Managers and Superintendents must develop an alternate set of plans and a new budget immediately.

Electric Conduit Construction (ECC) dealt with the issue of rock, by contacting our customer and offering a plan. At the time of the initial consultation, ECC did not know the extent of the remaining subsurface rock but made the assumption that it extended to the termination point.

It turned out that ECC made the right decision to bring in a 120 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 1 – 6 inch PVC conduit. The trench edges were saw cut allowing the pavement and base paving to be broken out along a clean line. The rock can best be described as a layer of highly weathered limestone. Some of it was soft enough for a track hoe to dig through. However most of it required the breaker.

ECC maintained the original project schedule and budget by reacting quickly, planning, collaborating with our customer and executing the remaining build.

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 please click on “Request a Project’ of call Carl Oko at 630-360-7903.