UNSPSC 73181007: Boring services

UNSPSC 73181007 Boring services (Commodity) spans the installation of underground utilities, geotechnical investigation, and infrastructure support work that state and local governments solicit regularly across water, sewer, transportation, and facility projects. State and local buyers use this code to procure directional boring (horizontal directional drilling), geotechnical drilling with sampling, test bore installation, monitoring well drilling, and related jack-and-bore or open-cut trenching services. The mix of recent solicitations includes water utilities (well drilling, wastewater effluent pipe installation), transportation agencies (railroad bore crossings, geotechnical subsurface investigations), school districts (utility conduit installation), counties (irrigation system upgrades, storm and sewer infrastructure), cities (geothermal test bores for HVAC feasibility), and special districts (landfill monitoring wells). Issuing bodies range from state departments of transportation (Oregon DOT) to metropolitan districts, municipal utilities, county governments, school districts, and airport authorities—a broad institutional base reflecting the universal need for subsurface access across capital projects.

Recent activity clusters in Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Colorado, and California, with representative opportunities spanning multiple notice types and scopes. The Greenwood Metropolitan District (South Carolina) is soliciting sealed bids for railroad boring services on Briarwood Road under ITB 2026RFB008 (response due October 27, 2026), requiring jack-and-bore installation of 180 linear feet of 18-inch steel casing with a 10-inch PVC carrier pipe under a CSX crossing, with 24-hour continuous operations and liquidated damages of $500 per day. The Oregon Department of Transportation is issuing multiple ITBs for geotechnical drilling and seismic cone penetration testing near Wickiup Junction (responses due October 15 and October 20, 2026) supporting joint research with universities, involving approximately 400 feet of mud rotary drilling, standard penetration testing, and Shelby tube sampling in diatomaceous soils, with federally funded Buy America and prevailing-wage compliance required. The City of Milton, Florida is procuring directional boring services for utility installation on an as-needed, purchase-order basis under ITB 2026.05 (response due July 22, 2026), covering horizontal directional drilling for water, sewer, and natural gas systems at unit prices per linear foot by diameter and material. Smaller jurisdictions including the Fort Valley Utility Commission (Georgia) are requesting design-build proposals for wastewater effluent pipe installation (approximately 4,000 linear feet of 20-inch PVC with 185 linear feet jack-and-bored under railroad tracks), and cities including Norwalk, Connecticut and Madison, Wisconsin are soliciting vertical geothermal test bores to support ground source heat pump feasibility studies. Across these opportunities, contractors must hold appropriate state licensing (water well contractor certification, underground utility contractor license, or professional engineer registration), maintain comprehensive insurance including pollution liability, meet federal Buy America and prevailing-wage requirements where applicable, and coordinate with railroad authorities, utility companies, and environmental regulators on complex subsurface work.