HDD is a widely used and growing industry, and is now becoming the preferred method of installing underground utilities. This growth is driven by the high cost and inconvenience of digging up highways, runways, or conjested roads and intersections.

Environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, rivers, streams, historical districts, or just landscaped areas are also seeing the benefits of trenchless installations.

HDD was developed out of the oil industry and was first used in 1971 to install a 600' long steel pipe, 4" in diameter, under the Pajaro River in California. Since 1971, there have been tremendous advancements in HDD technology. The use of on-board electronics and a transmitter located in the drill head allows the operator to control the boring by tracking depth and pitch. Advancements in drill bit technology has brought us to new levels of accuracy and ability to navigate through the toughest soils of New England. The ability to precisely navigate the drill head is no doubt the greatest advantage of HDD. Advancements in drilling fluids has also expanded the capabilities of HDD by allowing us to go greater distances at larger diameters while keeping the borehole open. By injecting a mixture of Bentonite clay and water, this fluid is mixed downhole with the existing soil creating a slurry which not only keeps the hole open, but floats cuttings out of the hole as it is displaced by the pipe being  installed. This is also important because it leaves no annular space or voids around the pipe.