Utility Locating for Contractors in Eugene and Roseburg: Getting Marks You Can Build From
Updated: Sep 23
This post is written for the excavators, general contractors, and site contractors we work with in Lane and Douglas counties. Their question is different from the homeowner's question. Homeowners want to know what is in the yard. Contractors want to know what they will receive from us, how quickly, and whether it holds up once the bucket goes in. Here is the direct answer.
What 811 gives you and what it does not
811 marks the utility owner's lines to the service point and stops there. On a commercial site in Eugene or Springfield, or a rural job outside Roseburg, that leaves the private side unmarked: fire lines, site lighting, irrigation, the feed to every outbuilding, private storm, and anything abandoned. That is the part that costs you a day when it is struck, and it is the part we mark.
What you get from a private locate
Marks on the ground. Paint in the APWA color code, so your operators read them the same way they read 811's. We mark the route, not just the point where a line enters a building.
Depth estimates. We are able to give depth estimates when requested at the time of service or during scheduling. We will tell you where we are less certain (rocky fill, congested corridors, wet ground). You will still want to pothole inside the tolerance zone before you dig across a marked line.
A deliverable you can keep. When the job calls for it, we put the findings on a sketch, a marked-up site plan, or a GPS/RTK file (when selected at time of service) you can drop into your drawings. That is what keeps the locate useful after the paint washes off, and it is what your engineer or owner will ask for.
A walkthrough before we leave. We walk the marks with your foreman, point out what we could not confirm, and point out anywhere we recommend potholing. Five minutes of that saves a great deal of guessing later.
How we locate
Electromagnetic for anything metallic or anything we can put a signal on. This is the most accurate method for power, metal water and gas, and tracer wire.
Ground penetrating radar for plastic pipe, tanks, vaults, and disturbed soil. It works well in the Willamette Valley's silt and sandy loam and less well in the rocky ground found in parts of Douglas County.
Line tracing through sewer laterals and conduits to get the true route and depth.
We also provide concrete scanning for coring and cutting on commercial jobs in Eugene, and we can pair the locate with vacuum potholing recommendations if your scope requires exposed depths.
Jobs where you will want us first
Site work on campuses, hospitals, and industrial properties with decades of undocumented changes
Rural jobs on well and septic outside Roseburg, Cottage Grove, or Oakland
Trenching for new services across a lot that already has irrigation
Any project where the owner's as-builts stop at the property line
Fence, retaining wall, and post work on developed lots
Getting set up
Our Douglas and Lane County office covers Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Roseburg, Sutherlin, and Oakland. Send the address, the scope, and any drawings, and we will schedule a time. Call 541-780-4149.
Local contact: our Eugene office covers this area. See the Eugene utility locating page for phone numbers, hours and the full service area.
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