Do I Need a Utility Locate Before a Driveway?

Yes, you need a locate before a driveway. Replacing, widening or regrading one means a skid steer cutting the old surface and base out, and on a country lot a grader across the whole approach. The driveway is the one place where everything crosses: the electrical service, the gas service, the water service and the communications line coming in from the street, and the irrigation, the low-voltage lighting and the buried downspout drains going across it. 811 marks the utility companies' lines up to your meter, which on a lot of driveways means part of what is under the concrete is theirs and part is yours, and the private part is unmarked.

The order that works. Call 811 first; it is free and needs at least three full business days' notice. Then have the private lines marked. Then cut, and hand-dig wherever the cut crosses a mark instead of letting the bucket find it.

What we do. We trace what carries a signal with an electromagnetic locator, sweep the driveway and the approach with ground-penetrating radar (where the job calls for it) for what does not, and paint the results in APWA color code (the standard utility paint colors). A mark means hand-dig here. Anything we could not find goes in writing. If the existing concrete stays and only gets saw-cut, we can scan it first (priced separately) and mark the rebar and conduit that show. Residential locates are a flat rate for the visit.

Homes and small sites get a price right away. For a larger or custom job, use Request a written quote to send the address and what the crew is doing, or call or text (719) 800-4937.