Georgia underground construction specialist Southeast Connections, LLC, is one of the busiest utility contractors in the southeastern United States.

Established in 1996 to do telecommunications work, the company began business with 14 employees and four pieces of equipment: two backhoes and two early Ditch Witch® directional drills.

Today Southeast Connections (SEC) employs about 185 people, including 40 construction crews who have at their disposal an $8 million equipment fleet of 150 machines that includes trackhoes, rubber-tire trenchers and loader backhoes, compact excavators, cranes, side booms, and horizontal directional drills.

Although the company got its start during the boom days of building the information highway, telecommunications construction has played a small part in its growth. After a few early telecom projects, SEC owners made the decision to broaden its target markets and elected not to further pursue telecom, a decision that served the company well in 2000 when the telecommunications industry bust put many horizontal directional drilling (HDD) specialists out of work.

"We decided early that it was important to diversify, and elected not to pursue telecom work," says SEC President Billy Campbell. "We specialize in water and sewer and natural gas construction, with about 85 percent of our work on gas projects. We are a primary contractor for Atlanta Gas Light, the largest natural gas wholesaler in the southeast, and occasionally subcontract jobs for long directional bores and to install large-diameter pipes."

From the company's beginning, horizontal directional drilling has played an important role in SEC's growth, says Campbell. For gas line construction, SEC crews use horizontal directional drills to install mains and services of HDPE and ductile iron pipes in diameters of 5/8 of an inch to 12 inches, and steel pipe up to 16 inches in diameter.

SEC crews are experienced in maintaining on-grade horizontal directional drilling installations for gravity-flow sewer projects. Many on-grade installations have been successfully completed at grades less than 0.6 percent. SEC provides consulting services for planners considering horizontal directional drilling for on-grade installations.

"As well as new construction, we specialize in renewal work in densely populated areas, pressure improvements, and relocation of gas lines," Campbell says. "We are experienced in dealing with the most adverse situations and unpredictable conditions. SEC has experienced personnel willing to adapt to any job. Completing every job in a timely, safe, and professional manner always is our number one goal."

Campbell says directional drilling greatly limits excavation and surface repairs required by excavations, and the technology allows installations to be made around and under existing structures or bodies of water. And the price of horizontal directional drills is competitive to other methods, when all factors are considered.

"In our business," says Campbell, "everyone knows horizontal directional drilling is the preferred method. We have saved millions in aggregate backfill, road cutting, milling, and hard-surface restoration."

SEC's fleet of horizontal directional drilling equipment includes 11 Ditch Witch horizontal directional drills ranging in pullback capabilities from 5,000 to 100,000 pounds. The newest addition is a JT100, the 100,000-pound-pullback model that is used for long bores and installation of large-diameter pipes. The smallest model is well-suited for service lines, and mid-range models are used for services and mains in diameters of 5/8 of an inch to two inches. Crews use Ditch Witch electronic tracking equipment. Four Ditch Witch FX30 vacuum excavator units are used for potholing and to remove excess drilling fluid from project sites.

"Our new JT100 has been focused on a major high-pressure belt line job we are performing in Atlanta for Atlanta Gas Light," says Campbell. "It has already performed three bores of more than 1,200 feet long to install 12-inch steel pipe on that project. Another 1,500-foot installation of 16-inch steel pipe was completed on a project for the city of Buford, Georgia. All bores were in mixed-face conditions with granite and clay. This machine adds valuable ability to perform jobs that average contractors may fall short of. Large-diameter bores and bores of great length have limited many contractors from bidding projects."

SEC already had wide experience making long, large-diameter horizontal directional drilling installations using the 70,000-pound Ditch Witch JT7020 directional drill. In addition to more pullback force and spindle torque, the JT100 has new features that enhance its productivity, including heavy-duty, double rack-and-pinion thrust drive and an infinitely variable rotary drive to match spindle speed and torque for drilling through difficult conditions, including rock, and a dual-pivot drill frame that allows for steeper entry angles without raising the machine's tracks off the ground.

Optional features include an onboard crane for loading and unloading pipe boxes and handling drill pipe and downhole tools, and an onboard anchoring system to stabilize the unit on virtually any type of terrain.

In addition to directional drilling equipment, SEC personnel operate six Ditch Witch trenchers: two 5110s, two 7610s, and two RT75s, all equipped with combination trencher/vibratory plow components.

Based in Conyers, Georgia, 20 miles east of Atlanta, SEC works in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, as well as in its home state of Georgia. Owners of the company are Campbell and Vice President Josh Evans.

"Southeast Connections has earned and maintained the reputation of never leaving a job unfinished," says Campbell. "We have built one of the most productive, qualified, and safest teams in the industry. I add safety because we feel we have built a team that is second to none on production without compromising safety. Engineers in our region call on us for design and construction questions during project planning. We have built a well-respected, well-rounded company that is diverse and profitable."

Ditch Witch equipment owned by SEC

• JT520. Powered by a 28.5-horsepower diesel engine, the JT520 produces 5,000 pounds of pullback force, 500 foot-pounds of torque, and spindle speeds to 195 rpm.
• JT920. 55 horsepower, 8,600 pounds of pullback, 1,100 foot-pounds of torque, and spindle speeds to 182 rpm.
• JT2720. 125 horsepower, 27,000 pounds of pullback, 3,200 foot-pounds of torque, and spindle speeds to 225 rpm.
• JT4020. 190 horsepower, 40,000 pounds of pullback, 5,000 foot-pounds of torque, and spindle speeds to 250 rpm.
• JT100. 268 horsepower, 100,000 pounds of pullback, 12,000 foot-pounds of torque, and spindle speeds to 210 rpm.