K-10/South Lawrence Trafficway Expansion Results in 9 Trenchless Crossings

By Iowa Trenchless September 8, 2026

As the Kansas Department of Transportation advances the K-10/South Lawrence Trafficway expansion in Lawrence, Kansas, Iowa Trenchless crews are helping clear the way underground.

Before the larger highway reconstruction can move forward, critical utility relocations must be completed beneath and around the active corridor. For Iowa Trenchless, this required experienced people using specialized equipment and field-tested know-how in difficult ground, and Akkerman came on board investing significant R&D energy to provide best-in-class equipment that was more than up to the job.

Project Details

The project included nine trenchless crossings, with drive lengths ranging from 240 to 465 ft, and ground conditions ranging from soft clays to varying strengths of shale to limestone rock reaching 15,000 psi along the alignment, with softer clay seams present near the reception shaft. One recently completed crossing challenged the technical capabilities of auger boring; the team was required to install a 24-in. casing 355 ft across the existing roadway under live traffic.

To maintain line and grade, Iowa Trenchless set up its Akkerman 240A Guided Boring Machine (GBM) system just as it would for a more traditional guided auger boring project, then adapted the approach to fit the job conditions.

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In the launch pit, the crew poured a concrete headwall to create a flat, consistent, stable launch surface for a pneumatic hammer system. Next, Akkerman’s GBM guidance technology was combined with compressed air and a pneumatic hammer bit often used in horizontal directional drilling. From the launch pit, the bit was hammered forward, chiseling through the alignment followed by heavy-duty pilot tubes to maintain visual targeting and steer capabilities all the way through to the reception shaft.

“This is the kind of project where accuracy and planning have to come together,” said Iowa Trenchless vice president Jay Klein. “The highway project depends on these utilities being relocated correctly, and the utility owners depend on those lines performing for decades after the roadwork is complete.”

After the pilot tube installation was complete, crews welded an Akkerman RBU24 (rock boring unit), fitted with a guided cutterhead, to the 24-in. steel casing. The guided cutterhead was specifically designed by Akkerman to follow the pilot tube path, allowing the RBU to track the open borehole created by the pilot tube hammer. The setup worked as intended: the Akkerman Guided RBU followed the bore path perfectly and exited into the reception shaft spot on, at the same location as the pilot tube installation.

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According to Iowa Trenchless superintendent Brandon Derry, the successful exit came down to the crew’s preparation and attention to detail.

“The equipment gives us the guidance, but the crew still has to build the setup, watch the ground, and make the right decisions as the bore progresses,” Derry said. “On a job like this, every step matters. The concrete wall, the pilot tubes, the tooling, and the casing all have to work together to keep the installation on grade.”

The field effort was led by foreman Jon Kile, working alongside crewmembers James McAtee and Dakota Mobley. Their persistence helped keep the work moving through a technically demanding phase where production mattered, but precision mattered even more.

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The K-10/South Lawrence Trafficway expansion project comprised nine trenchless crossings.

Using Trenchless

The K-10 Utility Relocations Project highlights the value of trenchless construction on major transportation improvements. By installing utilities beneath active corridors with limited surface disruption, Iowa Trenchless is helping reduce impacts above ground while supporting long-term water and wastewater infrastructure below ground.

For Iowa Trenchless, the project is another example of experienced crews using specialized equipment and proven know-how to solve complex underground challenges. The Akkerman 240A GBM system, guided pilot tube hammer, RBU24, and guided cutterhead were critical tools, but the real success came from the coordinated efforts of two companies, Akkerman and Iowa Trenchless, bringing together a team of dedicated people who planned the work, designed unique trenchless equipment perfectly adapted to this job, and the team who together delivered an accurate trenchless installation in unpredictable conditions beneath a future four-lane corridor.

This article was provided by Iowa Trenchless.

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