services
CCI Trenchless
specializes in trenchless technology
Our trenching capabilities allow us to use short trenches or eliminate the requirement for continuous trenches in our subsurface construction operations. We define trenchless construction as a group of technologies, materials, and equipment that can be utilized to install new or repair existing underground infrastructure with minimal disruption to surface traffic, business, and other activities.
Auger boring
Auger Boring is a trenchless technique used extensively throughout the United States, primarily for road and railroad crossings. This method utilizes a simultaneously jacked casing through the earth while removing the spoil inside the encasement by means of a rotating flight auger. The auger is a flighted tube that transfers spoil back to the machine and has couplings at each end that transmit torque to the cutting head from the jacking system located in the bore pit. The casing supports the soil around it as the spill is being removed. Generally, an Auger Bore is performed from an excavated bore pit to a receiving pit. Auger Bores are not designed to be curved either horizontally or vertically. The auger boring method has been around for over 80 years, having started in the 1930s in the coal mining industry. Major developments continue to expand the technical envelope to bore larger diameters and longer distances while achieving higher accuracies in a wider range of ground conditions. Auger boring can also be used in conjunction with other technology such as guided boring methods.
Pipe Jacking & utility tunneling
Pipe jacking and utility tunneling are trenchless construction methods that require workers inside the jacking pipe or tunnel. The Pipe jacking or utility operation is generally started from an entry pit. The excavation can be done manually or mechanically. The excavation method varies from the very basic process of workers digging the face with a pick and shovel to the use of highly sophisticated tunnel boring machines. Since the method requires personnel working inside the pipe or tunnel, the method is limited to personnel entry size diameters. Hence, the minimum diameter recommended for this method is 42 inches inside diameter. Even though it is theoretically possible for a person to enter a 36-inch tunnel it is very difficult for the person to work safely and efficiently.
Pipe Ramming
The pipe ramming method is a trenchless installation method that uses a pneumatic or hydraulic percussion hammer to drive a new steel pipe into the soil along the design path (horizontal direction). There are a variety of different methods used to remove the soil/spoils from the inside of the steel pipe that had been hammered in place such as augering, jetting, or inducing air. The most common application for the pipe ramming methods is often in conjunction with pipeline construction. It is also used under railway and highway embankments in certain ground conditions to help limit installation risk related to certain soil conditions. The diameters vary from 12” to 144” in diameter but crossings are usually limited to 200ft in length or less. Shorter distances allow the effective use of pipe ramming to install the steel pipe on the intended design path. Pipe ramming can be used in longer installations, however, line and grade can venture from the intended design path as distance increases.
micro-tunneling
The microtunneling method is a remotely controlled pipe jacking process that provides continuous earth pressure and hydrostatic support at the excavation face. It is typically defined as a remotely controlled, guided, pipe-jacking operation that provides continuous support to the excavation face by applying mechanical or fluid pressure to balance groundwater and earth pressures with limited man entry. A laser is typically used to establish the desired line and grade on micro tunnels shorter than 1,200ft. The microtunnel method can install pipe with a high degree of accuracy, typically within a tolerance of 1 inch with respect to horizontal and vertical alignments. Gravity sanitary and storm sewer lines are the most common type of underground infrastructure systems installed by microtunneling. However, microtunneling can be used to install other underground utility systems as well.