How do you permanently mark pipelines and cables under sidewalks and streets?
What’s the best way to mark utility cut patches or restorations?
How can we prevent damage to pipelines and cables under pavement?
Protecting your buried cables and pipelines underneath streets and sidewalks can be a challenge. In some cities the use of above ground markers is restricted, making it more difficult to protect facilities and public safety. Sure, everyone is supposed to request a locate before they dig, but the CGA DIRT report always shows that 20-30% of damages are caused by no locate request being made. In Canada it was over 50% in 2017.
On top of that there is always a chance that something did not get located even when a locate request was made. This means that the last lines of defense are surface markers and underground markers/barriers. The price for these markers is very low, especially compared to the costs of a damage and/or injuries.
At Washington Gas they use our A-Tags to identify final paving restorations. According to Scott Brown “We put them in paving cuts, so the municipalities know who did the permanent paving repair, we are so congested with utilities that this helps us reduce the false alarms and field visits.” In addition, these A-Tags provide a permanent warning to excavators that Washington Gas has pipelines in the area making this a win-win situation for both Washington Gas and the excavator.
References
Article: https://medium.com/re-form/the-streets-secret-code-e37ea0274021
