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pipeline and not a small fiber line, this created some challenges with the size of rigs needed to do a job. In some instances, a drill was set up in a utility easement in a backyard. With this being an in-town project, there also were many bores in residential neighborhoods. Watland says they had to watch their fluid pressure carefully and adjust the makeup of their drilling fluid to keep everything flowing correctly. The work around them required extra caution to not damage the surface with equipment and manpower and to make sure the actual drilling did not disturb the wetlands. There were four wetlands on this project, a couple of them under federal control, ranging from 400 to 1,000 ft wide. A 242,000-lb drill handled the longest bores, two 100,000-lb rigs did medium-length shots, and a 28,000-lb drill was used for road crossings.В More than anything else, what made this project stand out was the number of obstacles and the ground conditions.В The obstacles included wetlands, which are known for having diverse plant and animal life and are often the focus of conservation efforts. The job was so diverse that Watland used four HDD crews and three different-sized rigs on the job. The work was centered in Fort Smith in western Arkansas, with part of the pipeline going through an old military base that is now used as an Arkansas National Guard training facility.

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ItвЂ™s trends like these that add to the degree of difficulty of an already challenging project like the one Dakota Utility Contractors recently tackled in Arkansas.В The company was hired to install a transmission line for transportation fuel.

ThereвЂ™s also an increasing demand for accuracy when it comes to drilling.В вЂњWeвЂ™ve got a lot tighter tolerances today than we did two, three years ago,вЂќ Watland says. There are growing rules and regulations on things like drilling fluid disposal and inadvertent returns. More project owners are planning projects using horizontal directional drilling instead of open-cut methods because HDD has less impact on the environment.В But environmental concerns also have become a challenge for HDD contractors, according to Watland.

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Watland, whose job is to oversee the 15 drill crews, says one of the biggest drivers of the HDD industry is growing environmental awareness. On one day earlier this year, Watland had nine crews on oil and gas jobs and the rest on utility installations. Now, theyвЂ™re seeing an uptick in pipeline jobs. But when the oil and gas market started to suffer in late 2014, Dakota Utility Contractors was able to shift into more water and sewer work to fill that gap. Traditionally, 40 percent of the companyвЂ™s work has been on the utility side and 60 percent oil and gas. The company has 15 HDD crews and does pipeline and utility installations. вЂњOur customer is extremely happy - pleased with our production, how we handled the project and how we got things done.вЂќДakota Utility Contractors is located in the town of Ennis, Texas, on the outskirts of Dallas. They started in mid-December and hoped to finish by the end of May.В вЂњWhat IвЂ™m most proud of on this project is the fact that we adapted and overcame all of the obstacles,вЂќ Watland says. high-pressure steel pipeline carrying transportation fuel.

A tight deadline made all the tougher by the weather.ДЇour Dakota Utility HDD crews worked through these issues while undertaking nearly 30 shots totaling approximately 33,000 ft to install a 12-in.

Heavy rain that caused wet ground conditions for the first two months of the job.

Crossing roads, railroads, waterways and wetlands and dealing with the different agencies who oversaw those areas.

Drilling in town, with some of that occurring in the backyards of peopleвЂ™s homes.

HereвЂ™s a partial list of some of the challenges the crews from Dakota Utility Contractors faced: вЂњThis job was not an easy job by any means,вЂќ says Jim Watland, operations manager for the Texas-based company. faced all of these on a recent pipeline installation in Arkansas using horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Tight deadlines.В Dakota Utility Contractors Inc. Obstacles like existing utilities and natural features such as bodies of water. Think about some of the biggest challenges a directional boring crew may face on a job.В There are constricted work areas.

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