A successful auger bore project plan starts long before the machine reaches the jobsite. On larger projects, the actual boring may only take days or weeks. However, planning, engineering, coordination, and mobilization can begin months earlier.
Atlas Group often works as the boring specialist within a much larger construction project. Before the crew starts pushing steel casing underground, the team needs to understand the engineered design, utility locations, ground conditions, grade, pit dimensions, casing, access, and potential water issues.
As Kyler Woody of Atlas Group explained, there is a “huge amount of prep work” that most people never see.
Start With the Engineered Plans
When an auger boring opportunity reaches Atlas Group, the first thing the estimating team reviews is usually the engineered plan.
That document can answer several critical questions:
- How deep is the bore?
- Where does it start and end?
- What grade must the casing maintain?
- How large and heavy is the steel casing?
- What access is available?
- How large will the entry and receiving pits need to be?
Those details help determine equipment, manpower, tooling, logistics, and cost.
For larger-diameter installations, much of the engineering has usually been completed before Atlas Group becomes involved. Sewer and storm sewer projects are good examples because the pipe may need to maintain an exact elevation and slope.
Smaller installations sometimes allow more flexibility. A waterline casing, for example, may not require an exact grade as long as it maintains the required cover beneath a road or railroad. In those situations, Atlas Group may help determine a practical route in the field.
Utilities Must Be Located Before the Pit Is Dug
Existing utilities can change the entire profile of an auger bore.
Storm drains, waterlines, gas lines, sewer lines, telecommunications, and other infrastructure may cross the planned path.
Before Atlas Group begins boring, those utilities need to be identified. In many cases, the client will pothole or expose them so the team can visually verify their location.
Atlas Group can then review elevations and identify a safe pathway between or beneath them.
This step matters because unknown utilities can create serious problems.
During one project, an Atlas Group operator sensed that something did not feel right. He stopped the operation and pulled the auger to inspect the bore. Inside the casing, the crew discovered a large telephone cable directly in the planned path.
The cable had not been properly accounted for during the project planning. It also turned out to be live.
The crew’s decision to stop and inspect prevented the auger from cutting through it.
That example shows why utility verification cannot be treated as a minor step.
Geotechnical Information Helps Determine What Is Underground
After reviewing the engineered plan, Atlas Group looks for geotechnical information.
The team wants to know what ground conditions it should expect.
That may include:
- Soil
- Sand
- Cobble
- Rock
- Mixed formations
- Groundwater
- Changes between soil and bedrock
Different materials require different tools and techniques. Therefore, the expected ground conditions can affect the project estimate and the equipment sent to the site.
Sometimes knowing that rock exists is not enough.
Where that rock appears can be equally important.
Atlas Group explained that a bore path located directly along the boundary between soil and solid rock can be difficult. The cutting head naturally reacts differently to the two materials. That can cause the bore to move away from the intended path.
Ideally, the bore should remain above the rock or stay within the rock instead of traveling along that transition.
Geotechnical information can help identify these conditions before work begins. However, not every project has extensive subsurface data.
Sometimes the crew does not know exactly what it will encounter until the pits are excavated.
Digging the Pits Early Can Answer Important Questions
Atlas Group often asks clients to excavate the entry and receiving pits before the boring crew mobilizes when the site allows it.
This gives the team an opportunity to verify two important things.
First, crews can inspect the actual ground conditions.
Second, they can confirm that the elevations match the project plans.
On larger or higher-profile projects, Atlas Group may compare its own elevation measurements with those taken by the contractor and engineering firm.
As Woody described it, all three parties can “triple verify” the information before the bore begins.
That extra verification matters because the starting pit establishes the direction of the entire bore.
If the machine begins at the wrong elevation or angle, everything that follows can also be wrong.
Pit Dimensions Have to Match the Equipment
An auger boring pit is not simply a hole large enough to fit the machine.
Its dimensions must accommodate the machine, casing, welding, and working space.
Atlas Group often provides clients with a pre-job expectation packet. The packet includes diagrams and specifications showing what the team needs before mobilization.
A common pit length may be around 40 feet, although the required dimensions depend on the auger machine and project.
Even several feet can make a major difference.
Woody recalled a recent project where a particular machine required at least 35 feet. Atlas Group helped lay out the pit in advance. When the crew returned for the project, the finished pit was only 31 feet long.
The machine and casing could not fit properly.
At that point, the client had to correct the pit before Atlas Group could proceed.
A few missing feet on the surface can stop the entire underground operation.
Shoring Must Be Planned Around the Bore
Pit depth introduces another major planning consideration: shoring.
Many auger boring projects require crews to work deep below the surface. Depending on the site, protective systems may be necessary to provide a safe working environment.
Those systems also have to fit the work.
Atlas Group has encountered projects where a client obtained a shoring box that was too short for the casing being installed.
For example, a 12-foot-long box cannot accommodate a 20-foot piece of casing that needs to be positioned and welded inside the pit.
The problem may sound obvious after the fact. However, Atlas Group said it remains one of the most common preparation issues the company encounters with new clients.
That is why shoring dimensions need to be considered alongside equipment and casing dimensions.
Grade Begins With the Pit
For an auger bore that must maintain grade, pit preparation becomes even more precise.
The auger machine is positioned according to the proposed elevation and pitch. The casing then progresses from that starting point.
The pit base needs to support that setup accurately.
Atlas Group described situations where a 40-foot pit includes a gravel base that must be prepared to tight tolerances. If that foundation is wrong, the bore can begin wrong.
This is why experienced boring crews often participate in the setup process even when another contractor performs the excavation.
Atlas Group may not dig the pit, but the team still needs to make sure the pit can support the bore.
Casing Is Part of the Planning Process
Steel casing is one of the most important components of an auger bore.
Woody compared it to the barrel of a gun. If the barrel is not straight, the shot cannot be expected to remain straight either.
Casing quality, diameter, wall thickness, and manufacturing method can affect how the bore progresses.
Atlas Group generally wants quality seam-welded casing that maintains a consistent shape.
Problems can occur when casing is distorted or “egged.” If one section is round and another has become oval, welding the two together becomes difficult. The uneven shape can also affect the amount of material removed around the casing and influence how it travels underground.
Wall thickness matters as well.
Smaller casing is not always easier. Atlas Group explained that thinner, smaller-diameter casing can bend or deflect more easily. Crews also cannot enter smaller casing to make certain corrections available on larger installations.
For that reason, casing specifications should be discussed before material is ordered.
Plan for Water Before It Arrives
Deep pits naturally collect water.
That can become especially important on sewer and storm sewer projects because those systems often follow low elevations where water already wants to travel.
Rain can create a serious problem quickly.
Atlas Group explained that a sudden thunderstorm can require crews to remove employees and equipment from the pit immediately. A major auger machine can represent hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting at the bottom of an excavation that is collecting water.
River bores introduce another possibility.
A crew can encounter a natural fissure underground that allows river water to enter the pit. Old or unmarked waterlines can create similar conditions.
Atlas Group handles normal dewatering associated with its work. However, major pumping requirements may fall on the client.
The important point is that pumping capacity needs to be available before the water becomes an emergency.
Waiting until heavy rain begins to find a large pump may already be too late.
Access and Mobilization Require Coordination
A boring project involves much more equipment than the auger machine itself.
Casing, augers, cutting heads, welding equipment, tooling, trucks, trailers, safety equipment, and other materials may all need to arrive at the correct time.
Atlas Group described the work happening behind the scenes before mobilization. Trucks may be loaded early in the morning. Drivers and operators may travel between states. Equipment may be pulled from different locations and coordinated for one specific project.
If the crew arrives and the pit is the wrong size, the shoring does not fit, or access is blocked, all of that preparation can be wasted.
That is why Atlas Group tries to provide expectations well before mobilization.
On major projects, a signed contract may be in place six months before Atlas Group’s portion of the project begins. From the initial estimate through actual construction, some larger auger boring opportunities may remain in the pipeline for roughly a year.
The bore itself could then take only a week.
A Successful Auger Bore Is Built Before the Machine Starts
A successful auger bore project plan connects engineering, field conditions, logistics, and communication.
Before mobilization, the project team should understand:
- Engineered line and grade
- Utility locations
- Ground and rock conditions
- Entry and receiving pit dimensions
- Shoring requirements
- Casing specifications
- Equipment access
- Dewatering needs
- Mobilization responsibilities
- Who will verify elevations and site readiness
Atlas Group performs auger boring throughout West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and surrounding areas. On complex projects, the company’s role often begins well before its equipment enters the pit.
The machine may do the boring, but preparation gives the crew the conditions needed to do it correctly.