Cross Bores

Cross Bore History
Innovative techniques for installing some types of utilities have minimized disruption to the surface, reduced cost and provide a friendly alternative for reduced surface disturbances to homeowners and commercial business owners.

These trenchless techniques include HDD (horizontal directional drilling), plowing and the use of vibratory “moles”. While these tools are excellent and favored for new installations, they have some negatives because cross bores can be more easily created unknowingly.

Until the last few years the industry was mostly unaware of the problem. High risk areas where large cross bore identification projects have reported rates of cross bores of as many as 3 per mile.

Trenchless techniques have been used since the 1980’s and pose a large potential for unknown cross bores. Today’s new techniques and equipment has the ability to identify these cross bores for elimination.

Definition of Cross Bore
“Cross bores are defined as an intersection of an existing underground utility or underground structure by a second utility resulting in direct contact between the transactions of the utilities that compromises the integrity of either utility or underground structure.”

Legacy Gas Line Cross Bore Elimination
The high risks associated with cross bores where natural gas lines intersect sewer lines, including the potential for injury and death, demand solutions. Hydromax USA is prepared to provide visual identification techniques using a variety of equipment, project management expertise and sophisticated QA/QC review to identify and for elimination of existing “legacy” cross bores.

New Construction
Our techniques to pre-locate before construction, provides comfort to the utility owner and contractor that the potential for a cross bore is minimized. Frequently, good practices are determined to include post-construction verification process as well. This verifies the installation alignment was as planned and no cross bore exists from the new construction.

Proven Techniques Offered:

  1. Inspection of lateral and mainline sewers using mainline launched robotic CCTV lateral inspection cameras remotely operated from the surface of streets.
  2. Push rod cameras manually operated from inside buildings or sewer cleanouts.
  3. Vacuum excavation where the above techniques are unsuccessful
  4. Manual excavation to locate cross bores where the above techniques are unsuccessful

Project Management
Hydromax USA management team has provided cross bore locating services to the gas industry since 2001.
Thoughtful and experienced project management is necessary to provide comprehensive high confidence elimination of all legacy cross bores of gas lines in sanitary sewers. Hydromax USA can provide these services to ensure that the project scope is complete. QA/QC procedures insure the highest confidence in the inspection results. Hydromax USA’s goal is identification of 100% of the cross bores.

Let us explain the full service capabilities to you.

Please contact Steve Lacy at (812) 925-3930.