Last Word – The Decade of Opportunity for Underground Infrastructure
After more than two decades watching America’s underground infrastructure evolve, I can honestly say I’ve never seen an opportunity like the one we’re facing now. For those involved in horizontal directional drilling and other trenchless methods, the next several years could be truly transformative.
Across the country, funding, policy and private investment are converging to create what feels like a once-in-a-generation infrastructure moment. For years, the industry has been planning, waiting for funding allocations to move through the system, and navigating the regulatory process. Now, many of those projects are set to move from planning to execution.
From broadband expansion and data center connectivity to power grid modernization and pipeline upgrades, everything is happening simultaneously. The demand for underground infrastructure is growing faster than ever, driven by what I often describe as four key areas of success — each one reinforcing the others.
1 – Broadband Expansion
The first driver is the long-awaited expansion of fiber broadband networks. The $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is beginning to gain traction, with funds expected to reach projects in late 2025 or early 2026. Even if only a portion of those dollars flow to construction, the scale is unprecedented.
At the same time, private capital is pouring into regional fiber networks. Many communities are seeing new players emerge to build local fiber rings without federal subsidies. Together, public programs and private equity are creating the strongest broadband tailwinds the industry has ever experienced.
2 – AI and Data Center Growth
Artificial intelligence has added a powerful new catalyst. Data centers are being proposed and constructed across the country to meet the growing computing demand of AI applications. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that data centers could consume up to 12 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2028 — nearly triple their share just a few years ago.
Each facility requires massive amounts of underground fiber and power infrastructure, and most of those connections will be installed with trenchless methods. The result is not just a short-term spike in work, but a sustained buildout as data centers interconnect to form nationwide networks.
3 – Power Grid Modernization and Resilience
The third area is power infrastructure. Much of the U.S. grid was built more than 25 years ago, and today it must support the electrification of transportation, industry and everyday life. Modernization efforts are accelerating, from transmission expansion to resilience upgrades designed to withstand extreme weather.
Natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and derechos — have repeatedly exposed the grid’s vulnerabilities. Strengthening and protecting those systems is now a national priority, and trenchless technology plays a vital role in that work.
4 – Pipeline and Energy Projects
Finally, we’re seeing renewed optimism across the energy and pipeline sectors. Regulatory clarity and a more favorable investment environment are driving projects forward again. In addition to traditional oil and gas pipelines, new opportunities are emerging around carbon capture and storage. The Department of Energy has reopened funding to support CO₂ transport infrastructure, signaling continued confidence in these technologies.
Gas distribution replacement also remains a steady business. Thousands of miles of older pipe — bare steel, cast iron and early-generation plastic — continue to be replaced with newer materials, most often through directional drilling.
Looking Ahead
Solar construction, too, remains a key part of the infrastructure boom. Despite short-term fluctuations in project starts, the long-term trajectory points toward growth. Large-scale solar fields, grid upgrades and community-level utility projects will all require skilled trenchless contractors capable of working efficiently in varied soil and regulatory conditions.
Even the housing market, which has cooled in the face of higher interest rates, is part of this larger story. Every new development — whether 50 homes or 5,000 — requires the same essential underground services: gas, power, water, sewer and telecommunications. Those needs don’t disappear when construction slows; they simply build pent-up demand for when conditions improve.
A Moment to Prepare
What makes this moment remarkable is how interdependent these markets have become. Fiber expansion supports AI growth. AI growth demands power. Power upgrades depend on pipelines and renewables. Together, they’re shaping an ecosystem of opportunity that will define underground construction for the next decade.
For contractors, engineers and manufacturers alike, success will depend on readiness — the ability to train new operators, invest in reliable equipment, and collaborate across disciplines to deliver projects safely and efficiently.
We’ve been preparing for this moment for years, and now the work begins.
Dave Wisniewski is vice president of Vermeer Environmental and Infrastructure Sales.
