Before a footing is excavated or a duct bank is trenched, someone needs to know exactly what is underground. Utility maps are a starting point, but they are drawn from records, memory and sometimes guesswork, and their accuracy varies with the age of the line. A one-foot error in a drawing becomes a struck line in the field.
Locating uses electronic equipment to trace buried lines and mark them on the surface. Potholing goes a step further: a small hole is opened, usually by vacuum excavation, to expose the line and measure its depth and size. The hole is then backfilled and the data recorded. Together they replace assumptions with measurements.
Concrete Contractors of Midland coordinates trade partners who locate and pothole, and we use the results in the design review and the pour calendar. When a line sits where a footing is planned, we want to learn about it in a hole the size of a bucket, not in a trench the size of a bus.
Where potholing fits in the calendar
Potholing belongs early, after the survey and before the final foundation layout. The results sometimes lead to design changes, and design changes take time. We ask for the data a few weeks ahead of excavation, when the engineer can still adjust.
Locate requests carry their own timing. The one-call system notifies utility owners, who then mark their lines within a legal period. We submit the request in time, confirm that each owner has responded and walk the site before digging. If a mark is missing or unclear, work does not proceed in that area.
Marks fade, get driven over and wash away, so the walk happens close to the day of digging. A locate from last month may not survive a week of trucks. We refresh marks before a footing crew arrives, and we photograph them with the date visible.
Rules, records and standards
Texas requires notification of underground facility operators before excavation, and the law sets expectations for marking and clearance. Many owners add their own rules, such as hand digging within a set distance of a marked line. We follow both and require trade partners to do the same.
Records matter. We keep the locate ticket numbers, the marks photographed before they fade and the potholing results, including depth, material, size and position. If a line is damaged despite precautions, those records show what was done. They also provide data for the as-built set.
Concrete operations and trade handoffs
Specialist trade partners perform the locating and vacuum excavation, and we coordinate their visits with our schedule. We do not claim to operate the equipment ourselves. Concrete trade partners take over afterwards, using the results to set forms, place reinforcing and pour concrete safely around the lines.
When a line has to remain in place under a slab or footing, concrete trade partners place sleeves, encasement or protective covers as the engineer details. They also pour the patch that restores any pavement cut during potholing, so the surface returns to service the same day where possible.
Where potholing is done in a working yard or drive lane, we coordinate with the owner on traffic and safety. A temporary plate or barricade covers any hole left open between steps, and the hole is never left unmarked overnight.
What potholing costs and what it saves
The price depends on the number of holes, their depth and the surface to be cut. A hole through paving costs more than one in open ground because of saw cutting and patching. Coordinating holes in a single mobilization reduces cost.
The savings come from avoided problems. A struck gas or electrical line brings danger, outage costs and repair bills, while a redesign after excavation brings delay. A modest investment in verified data lowers the risk of both. We show owners the cost of potholing next to the cost of a typical utility strike so the decision is clear.
Owners with several buildings on a campus can lower the per-hole cost by potholing the whole planned area in one visit, and they gain a depth record they can reuse for later projects. We keep the data in a form that can be handed to the next contractor without a long explanation.
Projects that benefit most
Campus and hospital sites are crowded underground, and school campuses carry many years of lines installed by many hands. Hospital sites add critical feeders that cannot be interrupted. Midland College's main campus covers 224 acres, with other sites including the Advanced Technology Center at 3200 W. Cuthbert and the Petroleum Professional Development Center at 3600 N. Garfield, and any addition to such a campus meets existing lines.
Industrial sites and plants present their own challenges, with pipelines, power and control cable in dense arrangements. Owners in municipal and public works face similar crowding along streets, and office buildings in town often meet city utilities near the street, where depth and position vary.
Road projects that stir up utilities
Public road work moves and exposes utilities. TxDOT's I-20 at Midkiff Road project rebuilds the overpass so I-20 crosses over Midkiff Road, with new signals at the service road intersections, sidewalks, rebuilt service roads and ramp improvements. Private owners nearby should expect crews, detours and, sometimes, relocated lines.
SH 349 shares pavement with I-20 for about 10.2 miles on its route around the west side of Midland. Corridors that carry that much traffic also carry cable and pipe, and abutting parcels often inherit easements and crossings. Verified data is the best way to avoid surprises when working near them.
Areas near the Loop 250 and SH 349 corridor see this regularly, since service roads and frontage parcels sit beside active state projects. We watch project announcements and adjust the potholing plan when a nearby change could affect the lines.
From drawings to verified positions
We begin by comparing the utility drawings with the survey and the proposed foundation layout, and we list every place where a line might conflict. The list drives the potholing plan. At each conflict, we ask the engineer what accuracy is needed.
After potholing, the findings are plotted on the drawings and reviewed with the engineer and the owner. If a conflict is confirmed, the options are redesign, protection in place or relocation. Our utility relocation coordination and duct bank planning both begin with this review, and the same data supports site utilities sequencing.
Verify before you excavate
Send the survey and the foundation layout. We will help you plan the holes, coordinate the specialists and bring the results into your pour calendar.
Common Questions
How do locating and potholing differ?
Locating traces lines from the surface with electronic equipment and marks them. Potholing opens a small hole to expose the line and measure it directly. Potholing is more precise and is used where accuracy matters.
Does potholing damage pavement or lawns?
It leaves a small cut that is patched afterward. We coordinate the patch with the owner and finish it the same day where possible. In landscaped areas, sod or soil is restored.
How deep can potholing go?
Vacuum excavation can reach many feet, but practical depth depends on soil, access and safety. The specialist advises on limits. For very deep lines, other methods may be used.
Can I rely on a locate alone?
A locate is useful but not a guarantee. Nonmetallic lines and unmarked private lines are difficult to detect. Potholing at critical points gives direct evidence, which is why we recommend it for important crossings.