Across 150 blocks in Rockford, Illinois, the fiber construction process looks the same. Vacuum excavator crews expose utilities ahead of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) rigs. Drilling crews install 800 feet of conduit along the utility corridor, then move to the next block before dark. Behind them, crews set handholes, pipe teams install micro ducts through conduit, and restoration crews cycle through as blocks open on the schedule.
This is the Rockford FiberCity build. Always Underground Inc. (AUI) runs about 12 HDD crews on the project with another 40 support personnel cycling through vac work, handholes, pipe installation, fiber blowing, splicing, and restoration. The sequence takes 65 to 75 days from first activity to service ready, depending on utility locates, weather, and inspection schedules. When complete, SiFi Networks will have delivered fiber to more than 81,000 homes and businesses across 1,300 miles of new underground plant.
AUI operates about 62 rigs and employs roughly 540 people across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, and eastern Missouri. Across all markets, the company installed roughly 7.2 million feet of underground construction last year. David Paulin, Vice President, estimates that 80 to 85 percent of that work was HDD, with about 10 percent plow and the balance aerial.
AUI FiberCity work is built around a precise sequence, not a rush to do everything on a block in one day. The company assigns dedicated crews to each phase of the work and lets the process carry them through the neighborhood. That sequence repeats across Rockford.
AUI chooses installation methods based on each project's requirements and what will keep crews moving. In denser areas like Rockford, HDD carries most of the work because it fits tight residential corridors and keeps restoration predictable. Plow remains the primary method on long rural runs where uninterrupted footage is possible, and HDD supports the block-to-block work where accuracy and controlled surface impact matter most.
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One variable that sits outside AUI direct control is utility locate timing. Paulin said locate delays are often the biggest constraint on production because drilling and vacuum excavation crews cannot advance until utilities are cleared. To limit that impact, AUI stages work across multiple neighborhoods so crews can shift as soon as clearances arrive.
The AUI HDD fleet covers the range of work it encounters, from short residential laterals to long bundled duct crossings. The company runs multiple Vermeer models, assigning them based on shot length, product, and ground conditions.
The smaller Vermeer D10x15 S3 HDD Drills are ideal for short residential crossings where crews need a compact footprint.
"We use that drill when we are working in front yards and driveways," Paulin said. "It is easy to position and works well in those smaller work areas."
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Vermeer D20x22 S3 HDD Drills are everyday production tools for neighborhood mainline work, typically pulling 2-inch to 3-inch conduit along one side of the street.
"On mainlines, crews are doing 800 feet to 1,000 feet a day with that drill," Paulin said.
On projects that call for longer bores or larger duct bundles, crews move to larger Vermeer HDD rigs such as the D23x30 S3, D24, D24x40 S3, or D40x55 S3 HDDs. A Vermeer D100x140 S3 rig is typically assigned to bundled work and demanding crossings. AUI also runs air hammers on its larger drills so those rigs can stay productive when the work shifts into rock or harder formations.
Vacuum excavation is built into the block-to-block workflow. Crews use Vermeer trailer and truck vacuum excavators, including the VXT600, to uncover utilities ahead of HDD work.
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"With the VXT600, we can stay in front of several HDD crews at the same time with fewer people on the ground," Paulin said.
Within the AUI drill spread, the Vermeer D24 HDD fills a defined role on the fiber construction side of the business. It has become a reliable option for mid-length production work and a platform AUI uses to bring new operators up to speed.
Paulin first saw the D24 HDD at a roadshow event in Indianapolis, Indiana, and said the team immediately noticed how the machine was laid out.
"The D24 stood out to us from the automatic rod exchange [ARE] system, the on-screen diagnostics, and just the ease of running the machine," he said.
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The D24 ARE system has shown up most clearly in day-to-day usage.
"We do use the rod exchange, and it has improved our productivity tremendously as far as shooting out and pulling back," Paulin said. "We have seen efficiencies as far as more production, more footage, and overall efficiency for the company."
The one-button cycle reduces manual steps for operators and helps keep crews moving through blocks without losing time on recurring rod work.
The D24 HDD has also become part of the AUI internal training process. Automation allows experienced operators to demonstrate each phase of the drilling cycle, while new operators watch timing and sequence before taking the controls.
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"You could teach an operator every step of that machine before you let them actually do it hands-on because it has the functionality to do it itself," Paulin said. "It is great for training because you can run through the process the same way every time."
Noise levels around 88 dB(A) at the operator's ear help with communication in residential areas and commercial corridors where crews work close to homeowners and businesses. Operators assigned to the D24 HDD have reacted positively.
"Crews love it," Paulin said. "They will not give it up."
AUI is carrying roughly $350 million in backlog across its city and rural broadband work over the next two years. Paulin expects that number to stay strong as more markets move from planning to construction.
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Even as the numbers scale, the work on the ground still looks familiar. The same sequence of potholing, drilling, handholes, pipe, fiber blowing, and splicing repeats from block to block.
"It is very much the same thing every day," Paulin said. "Drilling, setting handholes, installing fiber and splicing it, and handing it over to the customer."
