Augering, Boring & Pipe Ramming

Augering, Boring & Pipe Ramming

Auger boring and pipe ramming are the workhorse trenchless methods for shorter crossings where a casing has to be installed on grade beneath a road, railway or watercourse. They are less publicised than directional drilling, but for the right crossing they are faster, cheaper and considerably more accurate on line and grade.

Auger boring advances a steel casing from a launch pit while a rotating auger removes spoil through it, giving the grade control that gravity sewers require. Pipe ramming drives the casing with a percussive hammer instead — an open-face method that handles cobbles, boulders and mixed fill that would stop an auger, and which is often the only viable option under an active rail line where settlement cannot be tolerated.

Choosing correctly between them is most of the value. We select the method on ground conditions, crossing length, grade tolerance and what sits above, rather than on what happens to be in the yard.