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THE ADVANTAGES OF TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY IN

COMPARISON TO OPEN CUT EXCAVATION METHODS

Steven Sachs, 0012, Bursic, 2 PM

Jake Lightner, 0012, Bursic, 2 PM

Favre, Tracy. August 2002. “Pipes: Choosing the Right Rehabilitation Method.” Water & Wastes Digest. Vol. 42,
pp. 7 – 8.

This article, from a peer reviewed journal for water and wastewater professionals, looks at the most cost effective
and efficient use of resources to update this country’s aging water and sewer infrastructure. The author, a
professional engineer, examines each trenchless method explaining not only the process of pipe repair or
replacement, but the cost effectiveness of each method. Information from this article will allow us to compare the
cost effectiveness of each rehabilitation method.

Harbuck, Robert H. “Economic Evaluation of Trenchless Technology.” 2000 Association for the Advancement of
Cost Engineering. Risk.12. Vol. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh.

This paper, from the leading international association for engineering cost analysis’ annual conference, gives an
excellent overview of trenchless technology. The paper, written by a professional civil engineer, goes on to
economically evaluate each of the trenchless technologies before comparing those costs to the open-cut method.
The methodology from this paper will allow us to perform an economic evaluation of trenchless versus open-cut
methods.

Mohamed, Rayman, Mohammad Najafi, Behnam Hashemi. “Cost Comparison of Open-cut and Trenchless Methods
for Renewing Sewer Lines.” Underground Infrastructure Management Online. October 2008.
http://www.uimonline.com/index/webapp-stories-action?id=182archive=yes&Issue-2008. Accessed 7 January 2009.

This article, from an online peer-reviewed journal specializing in underground infrastructure management, examines
the costs of a trenchless technology, pipe bursting, versus an open-cut excavation method for replacing sewer pipes.
The article shows how the trenchless method provides considerable savings for municipalities seeking to renew
underground utilities. This article is also important in that it provides us a template for comparing the costs of other
trenchless technologies with open-cut methods.

Najafi, Mohammad. 2004. Trenchless Technology Pipeline and Utility Design, Construction, and Renewal. New
York New York: McGraw-Hill.

This textbook, the most comprehensive book on trenchless technology in North America, contains an overview and
comparison of trenchless technologies, and an exhaustive description of the direct and social costs of utility
construction. This comprehensive resource examines each trenchless technology and compares its application to
that of open-cut excavation in terms of both direct and social costs. Information from this reference will allow us to
present pertinent information about each of the trenchless technologies.

Purlee, Larry. November 2007. “Relining vs. Replacement: The Need to Understand and Evaluate Alternatives.”
Trenchless Technology. Vol. 91, pp. 31 – 32.

This featured article, from the country’s most popular trenchless technology magazine, shows how trenchless
technology offers many benefits over traditional open-cut excavation methods. The author, who is the vice
president of one of the largest relining companies in the United States, does a side-by-side comparison of a cured-in-
place pipe repair versus an open-cut replacement method, which will allow us to weigh the pros and cons of each
method.
“Resources.” nastt.org. http://www.nastt.org/resources.html#5. Accessed 7 January 2009.

This website, from the leading professional society for trenchless technology, contains the largest resource center of
information pertaining to the advantages and disadvantages of the various trenchless technologies. The website’s
resources page clearly describes each trenchless method from pipe bursting to sliplining. The website pays
particular attention to the environmental and social costs of trenching to help us define trenchless technologies’
advantages over open cut excavation methods.
 Steven Sachs, 0012 Bursic, 2 PM
Jake Lightner, 0012 Bursic, 2 PM

THE ADVANTAGES OF TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY IN

COMPARISON TO OPEN CUT EXCAVATION METHODS
Traditional methods of construction, repair, and replacement of underground utilities generally employ conventional
trenching or open cut excavation methods, but over the last fifteen to twenty years, cutting edge advances in
trenchless technology have emerged in the utility industry. Trenchless technology is a broad term for the subsurface
installation and renewal of pipelines or utilities where no continuous trenches are required to be dug. The
elimination of surface excavation or digging is accomplished through various methods of tunneling, drilling, or
boring which causes minimal disruption to the surface area. The rapid advancement of trenchless technology is
directly related to the fact that open cut excavation methods are generally more expensive because of the need to
restore ground surfaces such as sidewalks, pavement, bricks, and landscaping. Municipalities and utilities could
save millions of dollars and also prevent untold social problems through the use of trenchless technology in the
renewal of their underground utility infrastructure. Much of the cost of utility renewal is associated with the
backfilling, compaction, and reinstatement of the ground surfaces. The return of the surface area to its original
condition accounts for seventy percent of the total cost of an open cut excavation project [Najafi]. Taking into
account these added restoration costs along with the fact that conventional trenching is often more time consuming,
it is no wonder more and more utilities are examining the use of trenchless technology [Mohamed]. Furthermore,
open cut methods have adverse impacts on community members, businesses, and commuters due to air pollution,
traffic disruption, and business loss. In addition, trenchless technology has been shown to increase worker safety
and productivity on the job site. Trenchless technologies are divided into trenchless construction methods and
trenchless renewal methods. Trenchless construction methods consist of the following advanced technologies: pipe
ramming, microtunneling, auger boring, impact ramming, directional drilling, guided boring, and impact moling.
Trenchless renewal methods can be categorized into the following types: cured-in-place pipe, coatings and linings,
grouting, thermoformed and thermoplastic pipe, and sliplining [nastt.org]. A thorough technical description and
explanation of these trenchless technologies will be presented in this conference paper. To objectively study the
benefits of trenchless technology versus open cut excavation, this conference paper will research leading trade
magazines, current websites, and the standard authoritative textbook to locate information on cutting edge trenchless
technology. The objective of this conference paper is to describe the current methods of trenchless technology and
to compare direct and social costs of this technology with that of open cut excavation methods during underground
pipeline construction.

REFERENCES

Mohamed, Rayman, Mohammed Najafi, Behnam Hashemi. “Cost Comparison of Open cut and Trenchless Methods
for Renewing Sewer Lines.” Underground Infrastructure Management Online. October 2008.
http://www.uimonline.com/index/webapp-stories-action?id=182&archive=yes&Issue=2008. Accessed 7 January
2009.

Najafi, Mohammad. 2004. Trenchless Technology Pipeline and Utility Design, Construction, and Renewal. New
York New York: McGraw-Hill.

“Resources.” nastt.org. http://www.nastt.org/resources.html#5. Accessed 7 January 2009.