Services – Crossroads Drilling & Trenching LLC

Directional Drilling

Horizontal Directional Drilling or HDD is a method of installing pipes and conduits underground. This method allows the installation of underground pipes and conduits while minimizing ground disturbance and restoration costs. Some of the capabilities include drilling under roads, driveways, and landscaped areas as well as walls, fences and sidewalks. Drilling under buildings is also an option, or where access to interior spaces in a building is required, such as basements, crawl spaces and utility rooms.

HDD also has an advantage in varying weather conditions and can be done year around in rain, snow, and frozen ground conditions.

System capabilities and limitations

Setup requires space at one end of the bore path to locate the drill rig and drill to desired underground depth. The drill head has an angled, steerable bit with a transmitter enclosed in the bit housing which transmits a signal to a receiver, and a monitor on the drill. This allows the operators to precisely locate the drill head and to steer the drill head to the desired destination, adding 10′ drill rods as the shot progresses. When the desired termination point is reached, the pipe or conduit to be installed is then connected to the drill head and pulled back to the drilling rig leaving the new pipe installed in the underground bore. For larger diameter pipes, a back reamer is attached to enlarge the hole size before pulling in the new pipe. Pulling multiple conduits through a single bore is also an option. Example: water line and electric line to a well.

The drill head cannot make right angle turns. Steering of up to 10% in 10 ft for approximately 9 to 11 in inches of steer in 10 feet are possible. Varying soil conditions affect steering ability. Loose rock and cobble conditions are often able to be drilled; however, accuracy can be diminished. Shale or slate ground is usually drillable. Hard limestone and ironstone cannot be drilled with a regular drill bit and need to be drilled with an air hammer. This significantly increases the cost, but is still an option.

Other Services

Other services we offer include open cut trenching, light excavating, and HDPE pipe fusion. A mini excavator and skid loader are available on all jobs.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule drilling services, please send us a message.