ForConstructionPros.com

When Jon Ersland purchased his first horizontal directional drill about 10 years ago, he figured he would use it only occasionally - likely just once or twice a week. But today, he finds he uses it much more often. "It goes out with us on just about every job," he notes. "With the changes we've been seeing [in this industry], it seems that we drill more and more. Now we tend to use the drill more than our trencher."

Ersland, his wife, Lori, and his son, Aaron, own/operate K & L Trenching, based in Huxley, IA.

K & L focuses on placing power, gas and phone lines. Tools in its underground equipment cache include a Ditch Witch JT921 horizontal directional drill and a 5110 combination trencher/plow. A Ditch Witch XT1600 excavator-tool carrier was also added last Fall.

One reason Ersland is drilling more frequently is economics. The significant difference in per-foot cost that previously existed between open-cut trenching and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has begun to evaporate. Initial purchase price and maintenance costs associated with HDD equipment have come down, while restoration costs for open-cut trenching have gone up. In other cases, HDD may be the only option available to navigate the ever-increasing underground congestion of cables, lines and pipes.

Nonetheless, Ersland still finds plenty of applications for both equipment alternatives. For him, as well as many other contractors, trenching isn't going away, and is still a cost-effective approach for many jobs.