In August 2009, King Contracting, Lincoln, Neb., completed a record-breaking horizontal directional drill (HDD) of 4,800 lin ft of 24-in. fusible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe under Lake Oahe near Wakpala, S.D. The HDD crossing was part of an 80-mi raw water transmission pipeline being constructed by the Standing Rock Rural Water Sioux Indian Tribe.Crossing Lake Oahe was one of the most challenging aspects of constructing the new transmission line because of the lake's length and depth. The original design called for a 3,660-lin ft HDD installation beneath one of the lake's major tributaries. With a depth of nearly 100 ft, the design required 24-in. fusiblbe PVC pipe...
