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A utility tunnel, utility corridor, or utilidor is a passage built underground or above ground to carry utility lines such as electricity, steam, water supply pipes, and sewer pipes. Communications utilities like fiber optics , cable television , and telephone cables are also sometimes carried.
Directional boring machine. Directional boring, also referred to as horizontal directional drilling (HDD), is a minimal impact trenchless method of installing underground utilities such as pipe, conduit, or cables in a relatively shallow arc or radius along a prescribed underground path using a surface-launched drilling rig.
Utility location is the process of identifying and labeling public utility mains that are underground. These mains may include lines for telecommunication , electricity distribution , natural gas , cable television , fiber optics , traffic lights , street lights , storm drains , water mains , and wastewater pipes.
Microtunneling or microtunnelling is a tunnel construction technique used to construct utility tunnels from approximately 0.5–4 m (1 ft 8 in – 13 ft 1 in) in diameter. Because of their small diameter, it is not possible to have an operator driving the tunneling machine, so they have to be remotely operated.
Underground pneumatic drills can be used in the installation of public utilities like power lines, gas lines, phone cables, and cable television. It can also be used to install residential lawn irrigation systems. Boring is especially useful when it is difficult or cost-prohibitive to plow or trench.
Tunnel Construction. Tunnels are dug in types of materials varying from soft clay to hard rock. The method of tunnel construction depends on such factors as the ground conditions, the ground water conditions, the length and diameter of the tunnel drive, the depth of the tunnel, the logistics of supporting the tunnel excavation, the final use and shape of the tunnel and appropriate risk management.
The first successful tunnelling shield was developed by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel to excavate the Thames Tunnel in 1825. However, this was only the invention of the shield concept and did not involve the construction of a complete tunnel boring machine, the digging still having to be accomplished by the then standard excavation methods.
An important advantage to placing utilities underground is public safety. Underground power lines, whether in common or separate channels, prevent downed utility cables from blocking roads, thus speeding emergency access after natural disasters such as earthquakes , hurricanes, and tsunamis.