Need to get a line to the other side of a driveway, road or finished yard without tearing it up? Directional drilling bores underneath — no trench cut across your surface. We install waterlines, electric and conduit trenchlessly for homeowners, builders and landowners across St. James, Rolla and Phelps County.
Directional drilling — also called horizontal directional drilling (HDD) or trenchless boring — is a way to install an underground line without digging an open trench across the surface. Instead of trenching straight through a driveway, road or finished lawn, the machine bores a path beneath it and then pulls the line back through that path. The surface on top is left essentially the way we found it. It's the method to reach for whenever a waterline, electric run or conduit has to cross something you don't want torn up and rebuilt afterward.
Here in Phelps County a lot of properties are laid out so the well, meter, transformer or new building sits on the opposite side of a drive or road from where the line has to end up. Open trenching would mean cutting through concrete, gravel or established landscaping and then paying to restore all of it. Boring underneath avoids most of that. As a licensed, owner-operated contractor with 15+ years of local site work, we handle the boring and the connections as one job — no juggling separate crews.
The idea is simple even if the equipment isn't. First, existing underground utilities are located and marked so we know what's already in the ground. Then the drill sends a bore head along a controlled, gradual path from an entry point, under the obstacle, to an exit point on the far side. Once that pilot path is open, the new line — pipe or conduit — is attached and pulled back through it. When it's done you have a line running cleanly underneath the driveway, road or yard, with only the small entry and exit spots to tidy up instead of a long open scar.
Because there's no long open trench across the surface, boring means far less disturbance up top — and far less to repair when it's finished. Your driveway, road or yard stays intact instead of becoming a second project. On a lot of crossings, the restoration you avoid is the whole reason boring wins.
Directional drilling works hand-in-hand with our waterline and utility installation and our excavating. We bore the crossing, then tie it into the rest of the line and backfill the entry and exit pits with the same crew and equipment.
Boring on Ozark-plateau ground is not the same as boring in flat, sandy soil. Around Rolla and St. James the subsurface runs to clay, chert and rock, and hitting rock changes how a bore goes — how fast, how the head steers and how the path has to be planned. That's exactly why locating and a realistic look at the ground come first. We've spent 15+ years working this soil with our own excavators and equipment, so we know what's typical here and plan the crossing around it rather than being surprised by it.
The layout of local properties is the other half of the story. Many rural parcels around St. James and Rolla have a long drive off a county road, a well or shared line on one side, and the house or new build on the other. Newer subdivisions on the edges of Rolla put finished landscaping, sidewalks and poured drives right where a new service line needs to cross. In both cases boring gets the line to the far side without turning the approach or the yard into a trench.
We handle these crossings for homeowners, builders and property owners throughout St. James, Rolla and the surrounding Phelps County towns. If you're not sure whether boring or trenching fits your site, that's a normal question — we'll look at it in person and tell you straight.
Directional drilling isn't the right call for every line, but there are clear situations where it's the obvious one:
One licensed crew, from the first look at your site through the finished, tied-in line.
We come out, walk the crossing, look at the ground and confirm whether boring or trenching is the better fit for your project.
Existing underground utilities are located and marked before anything goes in the ground, so the bore path is planned around what's already there.
We bore the path from entry to exit, then pull the waterline or conduit back through it — underneath the surface, not across it.
We connect the line, backfill the small entry and exit pits and leave the site clean, with the driveway, road or yard intact.
Every crossing is different, so we quote each one after we've seen it. The things that move the price up or down are straightforward:
We'll walk you through which of these apply to your site so you understand the number, not just receive it. When you weigh boring against open trenching, remember to factor in the surface you won't have to tear out and rebuild — that's often where boring earns its keep.
Matthew Buhlinger runs the work himself. You deal with the person doing the job, not a call center, and we're based right here in St. James — not driving in from the city.
We bore the crossing, run the line and handle the excavation and tie-ins as one job with our own equipment. No coordinating between separate outfits and hoping they line up.
Since around 2011 we've worked Phelps County soil and rock. We know what's typical under these driveways and roads and plan the bore for it.
We're a licensed general contractor, and if trenching is genuinely the better call for your crossing, we'll tell you that too. Free, in-person estimates every time.
Waterlines, electrical conduit and similar utility lines — anywhere you need to cross under a surface you'd rather not dig up. If you have a line that has to get to the other side of a driveway, road or finished yard, boring is usually an option worth looking at.
Per foot, boring can cost more than an open trench. But once you factor in not having to tear out and replace a driveway, road or landscaping, it often comes out ahead overall. On crossings where the restoration would be the biggest expense, boring frequently wins. We'll help you weigh both for your specific site.
Yes. Existing underground lines are located and marked before we bore, and the bore path is planned around them. That's a basic part of doing the crossing safely, and we don't skip it.
It depends on the crossing — the distance, the depth and what the ground is made of all factor in. Most residential driveway and road crossings around St. James and Rolla are well within range. The best way to know for your site is to have us come look; the free estimate covers exactly that.
That's the whole point of trenchless boring — to avoid the long open trench that damages the surface. The line goes underneath, so instead of a scar across your driveway or lawn you're left with only the small entry and exit spots to tidy up. It's far less disturbance than open trenching.
It can. Around Phelps County the subsurface runs to clay, chert and rock, and hitting rock changes how a bore goes and how it's planned. We've worked this ground for 15+ years, so we plan for it up front rather than being caught off guard partway through.
We do both. Directional drilling ties directly into our waterline and utility work and excavating — we bore the crossing, pull the line, connect it and backfill, all with one crew.
Free, in-person estimates on trenchless directional drilling across St. James, Rolla & Phelps County.
