Underground Construction - July 2021 - 6

EDITOR'S LOG
Robert Carpenter | Editor-in-Chief
Old Times, Good Times, More to Come
in the late 1940s and that really set the
utility industry on fire.
For the past 30 years of my experience,
I've been witness to some amazing trends
and events as well.
Sometimes, I like to rattle around in the
old attic that is my brain.
This year, 2021, marks an auspicious
occasion for Underground Construction
magazine. We're celebrating our 75th
anniversary of providing the most
comprehensive coverage of the projects,
technology, cutting-edge developments
and evolving markets that comprise the
underground infrastructure.
Which brings me back to my attic of the
mind. While I wasn't around (thankfully!)
during the early years of the magazine,
I have been present for almost 30 years.
In fact, I was very much involved in 1996
when we celebrated our 50th anniversary.
I wrote much of the copy and history for
that special event.
So, when it came time to create plans for
our 75th anniversary, countless memories
stirred and surfaced of good times and
amazing people that I still call friends
today. Unfortunately, some of those
extraordinary people are no longer with us.
It's hard to imagine the state of our
technology in 1946. Backhoes didn't exist.
Excavators were called track-hoes and only
the concept of the machine remains obvious
in today's equipment. Tractors with a
blade evolved into full-scale crawler dozers.
Notably, without much of these
equipment advances, the modern pipeline
infrastructure would not have been
possible. Further, the initial ride-along
trencher was invented by Ed Malzahn
6 JULY 2021 | UCONonline.com
I observed horizontal directional drilling
advancing from a novel concept to a disruptive
influence type of technology. I recall
sitting in at brown-bag lunches for pipeline
companies. These lunches were hosted - and
financed - by contractors such as Marcus
and Dicky Laney, Eric Skonberg, Grady Bell,
Neil Smith, Herb Fluharty, Jim Ellis and
many more notable industry figures.
Together, these competitors of a fledging
industry found the spirit of cooperation
and established the credibility and practicality
of HDD to the pipeline markets. In
the early 1990s, directional crossings were
sometimes viewed as optional. Today when
designing a pipeline, HDD crossings are the
first thing considered and developed.
Also in the early '90s, HDD continued
to go small with Ditch Witch and Vermeer
being the constants in the rapidly evolving
technology. During the fiber boom of the
late '90s, HDD of all sizes was technologically
advanced and established as a permanent
fixture for underground infrastructure.
Compact equipment, which had been
around in some form for many years, also
went through a rapid expansion mode
starting in the '90s, but really took off after
the turn of the century. Today, it is a rare
job site, indeed, that doesn't have some
kind of compact equipment in use.
Rehabilitation in various, limited forms
had been around since the first curedin-place
liner job by Eric Wood in 1971.
Insituform was born. Rehab continued to
steadily develop and expand with other
iterations still being actively developed
and refined today.
Underground Construction started its still
industry-exclusive annual Municipal Sewer
& Water Outlook in 1997. We've learned
a lot in 24 years of research and study.
In those early surveys, the dollars spent
on the rehabilitation and potable water
markets were relatively small, compared
to sewer construction and repair spending.
Now, both of those market sectors have
steadily grown in significance and spending
to rival new sewer installation budgets.
The majority of all these technology
breakthroughs over the last 30 years can
be classified into the " trenchless " category.
Starting with auger boring, pipe ramming
and piercing tools several decades ago,
trenchless methods exploded with the
advent of HDD and CIPP. Today there are
scores of applications and variations of
technologies in the trenchless realm.
Just as quickly, the trenchless novelty has
worn off and become a standard application
on job sites. The sizzle may be gone, but the
positive applications remain. Hybrid job
sites - combining open-cut and trenchless -
are now just a regular part of daily work.
Our 75th birthday is certainly worth
commemorating. At the annual UCT
conference in Nashville, July 13-15, we
celebrated in a mask-free environment
- the first time that's happened for this
industry since March 2020. A special
pavilion included an industry timeline,
summaries, magazine covers and even
vintage print editions for perusal.
We raised a toast with many friends.
The underground infrastructure industry
rolled into 2021 with amazing confidence
after a terrifying year of pandemic and
its related market ripple effects. But with
few hiccups and COVID-19 in retreat,
the essential industries of underground
infrastructure have tackled the growing
workloads with the typical enthusiasm
and determination we've grown to expect
from our magnificent markets.
And like the industry that Underground
Construction has been such an integral part
of for so long, we dare to be optimistic about
the next 75 years of discovery and technological
developments that drive our markets.
The future is underground. *
http://www.UCONonline.com

Underground Construction - July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - July 2021

Contents
Underground Construction - July 2021 - Cover1
Underground Construction - July 2021 - Cover2
Underground Construction - July 2021 - Contents
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 4
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 5
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 6
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 7
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 8
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 9
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 10
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 11
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 12
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 13
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 14
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 15
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 16
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 17
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 18
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 19
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 20
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 21
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 22
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 23
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 24
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 25
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 26
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 27
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 28
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 29
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 30
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 31
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 32
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 33
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 34
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 35
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 36
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 37
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 38
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 39
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 40
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 41
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 42
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 43
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 44
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 45
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 46
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 47
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 48
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 49
Underground Construction - July 2021 - 50
Underground Construction - July 2021 - Cover3
Underground Construction - July 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/gulfenergyinfo/gulfpub/underground-construction-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/gulfenergyinfo/gulfpub/uc_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uesi_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uesi_winter2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_ditchwitch
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gulfpub/uc_201706
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com