The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Award-winning HDD Project

June 1, 2010
The South African Society of Trenchless Technology Joop van Wamelen Award of Excellence has been was won by The ABSA Bank Energy Centre sleeves reticulation project, undertaken by Trenchless Technologies cc, and installed by horizontal directional drilling. The works comprised connecting 10 of ABSA Bank’s buildings in Johannesburg’s central business district with 100 underground sleeves for water, electricity, gas and fiber optics. 



The South African Society of Trenchless Technology (SASTT) Joop van Wamelen Award of Excellence has been was won by The ABSA Bank Energy Centre sleeves reticulation project, undertaken by Trenchless Technologies cc, and installed by horizontal directional drilling.

The works comprised connecting 10 of ABSA Bank’s buildings in Johannesburg’s central business district with 100 underground sleeves for water, electricity, gas and fiber optics. 

Drilling took place from building basement to basement beneath busy roadways, at depths of up to 50 feet, using horizontal directional drilling. Sleeve diameters ranged in size from 6 inches to 8 inches using HDPE pipe. The 61⁄2-inch and 9-inch sleeves were installed in bundles of three, four or six pipes.

Challenges and Solutions

The ABSA building’s basement floors originally were designed to support the weight of a typical sedan vehicle. Consequently, the Terra-Jet 7520 Automatic rod-loading system was removed to decrease the machine weight, and propping was undertaken from the floor below to support all areas over which the drill needed to travel into the required positions within basements.

A floor-to-sprinkler height restriction required that all equipment be less than 7 feet in height. Consequently, the Terra-Jet 7520 was further modified by removing the operator cabin, rebuilding the hydraulic oil tank at a lower position, and lowering the encapsulating body work such that the remodelled drill resembled a tank with a height of only 6 feet.

The majority of the installations took place in clay, while the remaining 20 were in rock. The presence of the rock necessitated the use of percussive hammer and rock reamers to expand the holes to the required diameters.

Lateral support ground anchors were encountered during drilling on 26 of the crossings. The presence and position of these were unforeseen, and resulted in the entanglement of drilling equipment in several instances. Drilling tools were pulled, pushed and rotated until they became free or broke the ground-anchoring cables. In two instances, the entangled cable would not break, and an acetylene oxygen cutter was modified and inserted within the bore to cut the cable and free the drilling tools.

In order to gain access to the drill face, coring to remove concrete lateral walls from 12 inches to 520 inches thick was required.

Containment of the large volumes of bentonite and spoil was a necessity as the basements are maintained in a pristine condition and in daily use. This was made possible using specially constructed tanks and brick berms.

The removal of bentonite to the surface was one of the greatest challenges the project faced. Initially, pumping, which is by far the preferred method of spoil removal, did not look feasible. This was due to requiring extremely long pipe lengths (up to 2,000 ft.) to remove the bentonite from basement to basement up the vehicular ramps. However, at planning stage, the idea was put forward to core holes through the slabs and enable vertical pumping along the shortest route to reduce pumping lengths to less than 700 feet.

Time Out Taken

For the first 6 months of the contract, no drilling was allowed during the freeze period from the 26th of the preceding month to the 5th of the following month. This was to prevent any potential damages to cables and infrastructure during the busy end-of-month banking period. It resulted in a very tight work schedule, necessitating crews to work day and night shifts, 7 days a week.

The location of drilling equipment on either side of the walls was required through concrete and rock, at depths of up to 50 feet. Trenchless made use of the radio detection i-track system, and tracked the equipment horizontally from the basements on either side of each crossing.

Confined access into basements via vehicular ramps required short 20-foot lengths of HDPE pipe to be individually transported down into basements where they were butt-welded into long continuous lengths for installation.

While in one of the buildings, the only access was by means of a lift, and pipe lengths were limited to 10 feet. Here, and in other confined and storage areas and plant rooms, the bentonite was collected in tanks and wheeled out in bins.

In two instances, the HDPE pipe was hammered into the completed bore from the drill machine side in a pipe ramming operation, as there was no access to pull the piping in from the opposite side of the bore.

Benefits of Trenchless Technology

The installations were exceptionally deep, precluding conventional excavation methodologies. There was no damage to roadways or existing buried infrastructure, nor was there any disruption to pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the busy commercial district. Cost savings also were significant when compared to other possible methodologies.

HDD allowed the insertion of the preferred HDPE sleeves without requiring the installation of a temporary pipe or permanent rigid pipe, followed by the HDPE pipe installation. HDD required no thrust abutment wall, and also allowed for adequate steering accuracy. The equipment is self-propelled and capable of drilling in a wide range of soil conditions, including clay and rock. It also is sufficiently compact and maneuverable to be able to operate in the confined basement spaces.

Trenchless Technologies cc was established in 1991, and to date, has completed more than 725,000 feet of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation and new installation works. 
ND

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Opinions
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    World According to Wayne
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Markets
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit

Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • National Drillers HDD Topic

    Ditch Witch Machines Help HDD Driller on Reclaimed Water Project

    See More
  • Intricate HDD Project

    See More
  • George Dugan

    Drilling Fluids: Horizontal Directional Drilling - Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight and Winning

    See More
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP