REQUIREMENTS

The project required a comprehensive approach leveraging all of the team’s expertise in outside plant fiber optic construction from planning to final testing.

1. While the customer team had identified start and end points on paper, NTI’s construction team tasked with choosing an optimal route and handling the planning and logistics.
2. Stringent environmental precautions were needed to protect the lake’s pristine ecosystem. The risks included inadvertent returns (drill mud escaping into unintended areas) and danger of accidentally draining the lake into the caverns beneath it—a discovery made during ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans during the planning phase.
3. Traffic control on the two-lane roads around the lake and addressing concerns from local residents would require constant communication and collaboration.
4. Setting a precedent for both size and complexity, this project would be the largest horizontal directional bore (HDD) in our customer’s history to date.
5. Permitting concerns from Dominion Power led to periodic work shutdowns, condensing the timeline significantly, and calling for creative scheduling.

KEY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Our customer relied on us not just for executing the bore and installing fiber optic cabling, but also for smart planning of the operation. From clearing and grubbing, to GPR scans, to building the drill pad, we prepared the site and determined the best bore shot location.

• GPR scans helped plan a safe boring pathway, so we could drill without accidentally causing ecological disruptions.
• The team used boat with trolling motor for walkover locating, enabling real-time monitoring of the drill head’s position and depth under the lake.
• Employed advanced steering techniques, such as pitch and clock guidance, to navigate the bore’s trajectory accurately.

We used an all-terrain horizontal directional drill (HDD) with the longest inner rod produced today for trenchless fiber construction that would minimize environmental disruption. Tasked with overseeing the largest bore of his career, our drill foreman (renowned for his expertise in HDD) and his crew brought deep experience and exceptional attention to detail to the job. Pulling the bore—a nighttime operation to minimize traffic disruptions—was executed perfectly, taking less than seven hours.

With drilling done, and the casing successfully installed, 1.5 and 2 inch conduits were pulled through. These were tied into handholes on both ends of the lake. Finally, our team installed and spliced the fiber within the conduits.

In the face of some setbacks—work stoppages caused by the local power company and the concerns of nearby residents—our team exercised flexibility and collaboration with all stakeholders to work through issues and complete the project. One strategy was for our team to lodge near the job site so they could rest during work stoppages but keep working odd hours and weekend shifts to meet the customer’s project schedule.

By carefully monitoring drilling parameters and using best practice techniques, we minimized risks and preserved Lake Anna’s natural beauty while extending fiber connectivity to the far side of the lake. Partnering with a turnkey provider meant that the customer saved time and effort, holding one experienced team responsible for completion from A to Z.

RESULTS

NTI earned high praise from the customer, who publicly celebrated the bore shot as a flawless execution completed on time. As a turnkey provider, NTI teams handled every step of the OSP construction project—from drilling to splicing and testing—to deliver new, high-performance fiber connections. Since the success at Lake Anna, the customer has hired the team for other similar projects, including a large-scale bore under the Rappahannock River.