[AT] Re:Underground Wire

[Cecil E Monson]

> How many times have list members see the Dig Safe markings be several feet 
> off of where the actual utilities are actually located! A couple years ago they 
> ran all new underground cable lines in the town where I work. We averaged 4 
> calls a week for utilites struck by the contractor. At least 98% were due to 
> mismarked or unmarked utilities.



	I'm coming in late on this but thought I'd comment. I'm quite familiar
with not only Dig Safe but Miss Utility, U Call, and a host of others across
the country. I had men working on underground construction for years and as a
rule, we put in over 500 miles of underground cable every year around the
country. I was directly responsible for every foot that went in the ground and
can tell you that Karl is absolutely right about mis-marked UG cables.

	Most of the problems seemed to come from the fact that the people who
lay the cable to begin with are never consulted when someone calls to have them
marked and a lot of companies hire outside contractors who mark what they find
and are not too concerned about what they don't. One thing that happens with
both electric and telephone cables comes about when they have extra cable that
will not fit in the trench. I have seen where 100 feet or more of extra primary
electric cable was just laid perpendicular to the trench in a trench going a
different direction. The extra cable was not marked because it was not on the
route new construction was to take. I know about this one because I had just
pulled up to a construction site in Slidell, LA in my car to inspect the
progress when the trencher my contractor was using hit a live 14KV power line
just 50 feet from me. It was like a cannon shot and lit things up pretty good
for a second or two. Before the operator regained his senses and was able to
shut down the machine, he hit the other side of it and there was another loud
report and a lot of smoke from the trench. Power went out everywhere at that
point and power company guys who were working nearby came right over. Luckily
the foreman was able to see first hand that we were following the marked line
and there were no marked utility cables anywhere on our side of the pole. It
took a lot of digging later that week to find out what happened.

	I could tell these stories all day long as hitting unmarked cables,
wires, water pipes and even gas lines were a way of life with me for years.
Luckily I never had a man injured as a result of hitting mis-marked UG utilities
but it could have happened at any time.

Cecil
-- 
The nicest thing about telling the truth is you never have to wonder
what you said.

Cecil E Monson
Lucille Hand-Monson
Mountainville, New York   Just a little east of the North Pole

Allis Chalmers tractors and equipment

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