HDD

NY Waterways Project

ASG plans, designs, builds, and services the world’s ICT infrastructures to create a more sustainable and connected society. Established in 2008, ASG has become a leader in offering turnkey engineering, construction, and data service solutions. ASG has operations in over 30 states as well as a presence in Ireland. We are building the infrastructure of the future and creating connectivity in the communities around us. 
 
ASG has been retained to provide turnkey engineering and construction services for trenchless, subaqueous fiber conduit projects for one of the major utilities in New York City. These crossings will provide cable diversity and increased capacity for the region as well as the global network they support. 
 
This work will be completed in public rights of way or on private property after proper permissions and permits have been received. Every effort is being made to eliminate any impact and inconvenience to the public. 

What is HDD & How Does it Work?

An evolution of the oil well drilling industry, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is similar in technique and tooling except an HDD rig is comprised of an inclined ramp as opposed to a vertical mast. Due to this similarity, HDD is generally referred to as drilling as opposed to boring. 

Traditional installations via HDD are comprised of three stages: 

  • Drilling a pilot hole to establish the designated path 

  • Pre-reaming the pilot hole to diameters of up to 48in or more 

  • Pullback of pipe at up to 1,100,00lbs or more 

This technique allows us to place these additional conduits using a steerable drill to cross the rivers with a minimum amount of disturbance to the public. Using this construction method, guided by GPS technology, a drill pipe is bored through the bedrock deep under the river bottom causing no interruption in river traffic and also a minimal footprint at the entry and exit sites. HDD is environmentally friendly and minimally invasive compared to other methods. 

This project is taking the added step of leaving the drill pipe in place as the conduit path requiring only a 10’ X10’ opening at the receiving site. 

Drill & Leave

In dense urban environments, like NYC, where it is difficult to find space for a larger equipment pad and pipe layout, the practice of “drill and leave” is a preferred method. With this approach, the pipe used to drill the pilot hole is left in place and becomes the path that will be used to place the required facilities. 

Dependent on multiple variables including soil conditions, drill path and length, available access to drill locations, and final capacity required, adjustments may be made on a case-by-case basis to increase performance without sacrificing deliverability. 

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