![]() It might be less expensive to open-cut that trench initially, but it's more expensive to maintain it." "If you go into an existing area with a trencher, you may have to restore it two to three times to get it back to its natural state. "The costs and time constraints associated with restoration can become very expensive, especially when you consider the difficulty in finding laborers," says Levings. In addition, you need to factor in the time to restore the trench. ![]() If you are required to restore the ground to grade for gravity sewers, water drain lines, etc., you may also need to invest in a laser level system. However, some jobs may require bringing in compaction tools, such as vibratory plates or rammers. You may be able to accomplish adequate restoration using the trencher itself. You aren't able to do this process with a drill."īut even in a rural setting, there will likely be some level of restoration required. "Some states require that you lay sand in the bottom of the trench when placing natural gas lines," says Bob Wren, training manager, Astec Underground. ![]() Open-cut trenching may be your only option in states with specific requirements. You can also take advantage of a common trench for multiple utilities, further reducing installation costs. Plus, machine setup time and operation are faster compared to HDD. There is no added cost wrapped up in time and tools to identify existing utilities, and there is no chance of cutting through or damaging underground lines, pipes, cables, etc., which can cause additional downtime. Open-cut trenching is a fast, economical way to place utilities in undeveloped, rural areas. You might not get paid much more, but the cost is higher because people are more particular about their lawns and the restoration part of it." The cost per foot to trench is higher than it used to be. "You just trenched it, and it was what it was. "When I started in this industry 18 years ago, restoration wasn't a big issue," says Richard Levings with the Ditch Witch organization. "But every job is different, so coming up with an exact cost formula is difficult."įor many contractors, determining which method is the most cost-effective begins with evaluating the level of restoration required. "We've been doing this a long time," Ersland says. For him, as well as many other contractors, trenching isn't going away, and is still a cost-effective approach for many jobs.ĭetermining whether open-cut trenching or HDD is more cost-effective on a particular job often boils down to your knowledge of the local area and its working conditions, and the affect they might have on machine and crew costs. ![]() Nonetheless, Ersland still finds plenty of applications for both equipment alternatives. In other cases, HDD may be the only option available to navigate the ever-increasing underground congestion of cables, lines and pipes. Initial purchase price and maintenance costs associated with HDD equipment have come down, while restoration costs for open-cut trenching have gone up. The significant difference in per-foot cost that previously existed between open-cut trenching and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has begun to evaporate. One reason Ersland is drilling more frequently is economics. A Ditch Witch XT1600 excavator-tool carrier was also added last Fall. Tools in its underground equipment cache include a Ditch Witch JT921 horizontal directional drill and a 5110 combination trencher/plow. K & L focuses on placing power, gas and phone lines. Now we tend to use the drill more than our trencher."Įrsland, his wife, Lori, and his son, Aaron, own/operate K & L Trenching, based in Huxley, IA. "With the changes we've been seeing, it seems that we drill more and more. "It goes out with us on just about every job," he notes. But today, he finds he uses it much more often. When Jon Ersland purchased his first horizontal directional drill about 10 years ago, he figured he would use it only occasionally - likely just once or twice a week.
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