GPRS, Inc. was contacted by a general contractor to locate many private utilities in area of an industrial plant where digging was to occur in the future. For this project, it was crucial that the depth of utilities were able to be identified. In this area the refinery needed to re pave asphalt and feared hitting many known utilities. Their typical utility locating service provider was unable to provide depths with their standard equipment. GPRS was tasked with the difficult and important job. In addition to successfully locating and providing depths to ALL utilities, GPRS was able to provide the client with GPS mapping services of the utilities found. This assisted the contractor in the planning stages of the project so they could determine where shallow utilities would affect grading efforts and how to safely excavate the area without a utility strike. Many of the utilities were shallow. Two propane lines were found to be only 9” deep. Other lines were found to be 4’ deep! Many of the electrical lines had been pulled prior to scheduling the scanning. Thanks to GPR technology all of the utilities were able to be located, including the empty PLASTIC conduits that cannot be found using traditional methods. GPRS was able to provide GPS mapping of the found utilities and included the depth of each utility found. This would allow the contractor to plan and not need for another locate to be done in this area.

Ground penetrating radar is a great tool to scan areas of post tension cables, rebar, and conduits, including PVC pipes and can also be used to locate underground utilities prior to digging or excavating. Please contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems – GPRS to learn how we can assist with your project. To locate rebar, post tension cables, voids, conduits, pipes or utilities in concrete or underground please contact us today.

Wisconsin GPR Expert: Christopher A. Geary – Regional Manager

Give Chris a call at 414.795.6845 or send him an email at chris.geary@gp-radar.com to discuss your project today!