Balancing the Risks & Rewards of Underground and Trenchless Delivery Methods

By Steve Kramer

Too few bidders. Bids above engineer’s estimates. Labor shortages. Material shortages and price increases. Delays in design or construction. Increasing claims or change orders. Do these events sound familiar?

The underground construction business is impacted by continuing and new challenges. The linear nature of trenchless work is different than general construction and methods for recovery due to problems are frequently limited. For all types of projects, owners desire construction methods for jobs that can be safely implemented and be delivered on-time and on-budget. While designers are pressed to produce high quality documents with limited budgets and cannot afford to take on unlimited liability, and construction companies cannot bet the house on a single project.