In early February, DTD initiated a 2,300′ long bore near Ulster, PA.  The bore was to cross under a wetland located in the bottom of a small valley, thereby placing the pipeline beneath the valley, without ever bringing equipment into the drainage. The drill rig (an American Augers DD210) was set up on the hill on the northwest side of the valley,  approximately 120′ above the wetland, drilling southeast to exit on top of a hill  on the other side of the valley at an elevation of 170′ above the wetland.  In effort to insure there would be no inadvertent return of drilling fluid to the wetland, the bore was drilled at a depth of 70′ below the wetland, giving the bore about 240′ of total relief. The bore also passed beneath two residential lanes.

Drill Bit at Exit

Though the bore was completed in the heart of Pennsylvania’s winter through rock  with over 20,000 psi compressive strength, it was still completed in one month.  After exiting on target, pullback of the 6-inch steel began.  Due to the long length of the bore and limited laydown length near the exit, the 6-inch steel product pipe had to be laid in 4 separate sections, and welded during the pullback. The welding breaks extended the pullback time to 21 hours.