As a world leader in trenchless construction solutions, we pride ourselves on pioneering new approaches and bringing our expertise to some of the most complex, critical projects. Our reputation for delivering safe, reliable solutions that meet the demands for minimally disruptive, environmentally sound infrastructure construction continues to earn recognition.
Michels Trenchless’ work on three trenchless projects was recently honored by Trenchless Technology Magazine, securing the top spots in the New Installations category for the publication’s 2025 Project of the Year awards. J.D. Hair & Associates; Michels Construction; Michels Pacific Energy; and Michels Pipeline also contributed to the success of these projects.
Our work represented an array of trenchless techniques, delivery models, industries, and geography:
Project of the Year: Winner
Champlain Hudson Power Express® (CHPE)
CHPE is an innovative underground power transmission project designed to deliver 1,250 MW of clean hydropower from Canada to New York City. The project includes more than 300 horizontal directional drilling (HDD) bores along the terrestrial route. Michels’ contributions included 12 HDDs ranging from 925 feet to 5,100 feet to complete critical crossings for a pair of new HVDC electrical transmission cables with associated telecommunications lines.
Due to timeline and space constraints, the project featured the first-time use of an interlocking, non-welded pipeline on an HDD rather than a traditional welded pipe string.
Project of the Year: Runner-up
Portland UG Network Willamette River Crossing
Michels completed two parallel horizontal directional drills beneath the Willamette River in Portland, OR as part of the EPA Harbor Superfund Mile 11 Cleanup initiative. We installed carrier pipe for housing conduit to replace electric circuits originally laid on the riverbed. Through the Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) model, Michels and AECOM developed an innovative solution to advance large-diameter casing to support HDD operations.
See Willamette River Crossing’s project profile.
Project of the Year: Honorable Mention
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)
Michels used two trenchless methodologies to construct landfalls and trenchless crossings of environmentally sensitive areas to provide electrical conduits for a 176-turbine (2.6-gigawatt) wind farm located 24 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia. Direct Pipe® was used for the nine landfall locations, and 10 HDDs were performed under Lake Rudee and and Lake Christine. The project will provide clean, renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes.
Congratulations to our people and partners for their work on these top projects!
