Boring Hole Under Asphalt Road

GregJ · Feb 2, 2003

I am landscaping our "island" in the center of our circular driveway this winter. We have put in a granite rockery and lots of bricks around it and a brick trail through it. We decided we wanted to put in a sprinkler system. We also decided that if we were going to plant anything nice in this area we had better extend our invisible fence to protect it from our dogs. So, I was ready to trench the road with my backhoe and then patch it. A friend of mine saved me a lot of grief by suggesting a technique I hadn't thought of. I thought I should share it with the group.

I bought some 10' lengths of 3" ABS and a 10' length of 3/4" Schedule 40 pvc with hose adapters for each end (M/F). I dug a 15' trench, 3' deep on one side of the road. I started to bore with a post hole digger, just enough to stick the pipe into the hole. Then I ran the 3/4" pipe with a high pressure "driveway sweeper" nozzle on the end, inside the 3" ABS. The water broke up the dirt ahead of the pipe and I tapped the back end of the pipe with a sledge and it traveled about an inch on every tap. I don't think it took me 15 minutes to drive that pipe 12 feet to get under the road.

I've learned a lot from this website. Hopefully somebody can benefit from this trick like I did.

An interesting side note.... I called my buddy to thank him tonight for this tip. We always share tractor stories, and tonight he showed me up big time. As good as my trench work and tunneling work was...... he pulled a SEMI out of the ditch today. He has a 15+ year old little Kubota about the size of my B7500 , and there was a Semi that had pulled off the side of the road and was stuck in the mud. With a little work, he was able to get them back on the road. He was as shocked as the truck driver. Obviously he wasn't stuck real bad, but it makes a great story and bragging rights. I just wish he had a picture.

Greg

Anonymous Poster · Feb 2, 2003

Greg,

I'm going to put that idea in my bag of tricks for future use...

If I ever have the need to use it I'm afraid with my luck I will find the only rock within a stone's throw. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Great idea...thanks for the pointer.

Bill in Pgh, PA

bellweather · Feb 3, 2003

Very interesting. I have heard of a similar technique using a garden hose for tunneling under a paved path or sidewalk.

Egon · Feb 3, 2003

There are many different ways of tunelling under a road. Some use water, others air and still others use drills. They are widely used in urban centers to install almost any type of pipe or conduit under roads or whatever.

Egon