Central Directional Drilling (CDD) has been working in Wanganui as a subcontractor since July 25. Mr Baker said there had been a lot of questions from curious residents, and people were glad the rollout was finally happening.
So far his workers have put in four cabinets in streets fringing the central city - one each in Ingestre and Guyton Sts and two in Ridgway St. They beige boxes about 1m high and are linked back to the boundaries of each property in the surrounding area.
CDD is based in New Plymouth and owned by Garry and Erin Stonnell. For 17 years it has worked all over New Zealand, drilling and laying cables, drains, pipes and gas mains, often in conjunction with infrastructure maintenance company Transfield.
The Wanganui broadband rollout is a big job for CDD, and it has committed more than $1 million to it. It has a yard and office at 44 Peat St and has recruited 31 Wanganui people to join four from New Plymouth. The whole job will take three to five years.
The new jobs in Wanganui were keenly sought, and those employed have melded into a good team.
CDD has two drills in Wanganui at present, each able to make an underground bore hole 160m long. Another drill with a 210m reach arrives next week.
A drill can put in 300 to 400 metres of pipe a day, whereas digging up the road or footpath can only lay down 50 to 60 metres a day. And it's slow, dirty and disruptive to residents and businesses.
"For us personally, I would like to not dig any holes anywhere," Mr Baker said.
The optimum depth for the bore holes is 1m, and they have to stay 1 to 1.5m away from trees to avoid damaging roots.
Each drill is fitted with a transmitter that signals its location to a worker above ground holding a computer. The signals are accurate to the millimetre, Mr Baker said.
Staff use a digital mapping system to locate the underground services they need to avoid, and dig test holes to make sure of their depth. So far there have been no nasty surprises.
The orange pipe fed out into bore holes is 180mm round and contains many more smaller colour-coded pipes, one for each property.
Once the pipes have been laid, those smaller internal glass or plastic pipes have to be tested to make sure every one of them works before the holes in pavement can be sealed. Each cabinet connects to 80 to 110 properties, and the testing process can take weeks.
There has only been one problem so far, Mr Baker said, when compaction in Wilson St crushed a pipe. The site had to be found and the pipe dug up again.
CDD hopes to stay on in Wanganui after it has finished the broadband rollout, and work on other utilities.
The company has three drills working in New Plymouth, and also hopes to get work on the broadband rollout there next year.
THE ROLLOUT PROCESS
- Dig test holes.
- Drill underground and feed in pipes.
- Join pipes to cabinet.
- Test pipes to make sure all are working.
- Back fill holes and reinstate pavement.
JOBS IN THE ROLLOUT
- Shovel hands.
- Digger drivers.
- Truck drivers.
- Directional drill operators.
- Directional drill locators.
- Pipe joiners.
- Testers.
- Planners.
WANGANUI SUBCONTRACTORS
O'Neill Construction Ltd.
Tartek Ltd.
Wanganui Concrete Contractors.
