ICI member contractors are reporting a high volume of utility locate delays this construction season. The reporting frequency is as high as I have experienced in the nearly 15 years that I have been with ICI. Many contractors state that utility locate companies are unable to keep up with demand and are rescheduling locate requests multiple times. In two reported cases, locate requests were rescheduled beyond the locate request ticket expiration date. When asked about utility locating this year, Dave Kozyra, Area Manager/VP, Milestone Contractors LP, stated, “Locates were not being completed on some projects and there were no direct conversations between the locator and contractor. Very little movement.” Mr. Kozyra added, “Projects were put on hold, which increased downtime expenses for the contractor and owner.”
Some construction industry representatives believe that the 811 law changes have contributed to increased locating delinquency and decreased contractor-locate technician communication. Contractors state that previously locate technicians called and spoke to contractor field representatives to coordinate locate field work. The revised law states that locators must attempt to contact the excavator before rescheduling a locate request. The revised law also requires a “positive response” from the utility facility owner. Contractors explain that positive response acknowledgement requires a field representative or a dedicated contractor staff person to constantly monitor the 811 locate request application to find out if an excavation site is clear.
ICI is looking to work with all stakeholders to identify causes and solutions to this issue. In June of this year, ICI received data from contractors in the form of locate request ticket communication log copies. Contractors submitted over 250 examples of 811 locate request dashboard screen shots and communication string copies to ICI, representing 91 locate requests. ICI calculated the average working days delay was 10.5. The data was from a small representative number of contractors, including locate request start dates beginning in late April and ending in early July 2025. ICI will continue to collect data and inform utility and project stakeholders of this continued trend.
While contractors must comply with current law for now, Mr. Kozyra explained that he and the northwest Indiana Milestone crews are experiencing reduced delays through increased direct verbal communication with locators. He offered that he and Milestone supervisors began attending the monthly Northern Damage Prevention Council meetings. The meetings offer a pipeline of information and access to people who were accessible to help with these challenges. He went on to say “Milestone established weekly and then bi-weekly follow-up discussions between us and key personnel on the locator’s team in our affected area.” I also heard from Vernon Cranor, GridHawk Director of Operations, Indiana, at the August 6, 2025, Indiana Stakeholders meeting provided by NUCA and MacAllister Machinery Company, Inc. Mr. Cranor also lauded direct communication with Milestone and other contractors, leading to greater transparency regarding contractor needs and GridHawk’s load levels. Mr. Cranor also explained that their data shows a high quantity of utility locate requests on Mondays and Tuesdays. This results in a low locator load at the beginning of the week and a high load on Thursdays through Saturdays. He urged contractors to consider spreading out locate requests throughout the week, if permitted. Mr. Cranor also suggested providing accurate and clear location details in locate requests, and white lining may improve locating efficiency, leading to less delays.
Several 811 Dig Law improvement suggestions were communicated during the Stakeholder meeting. They include ticket expiration duration adjustments relative to the excavator’s entered excavation date and “project tickets” that remain open for the duration of a project.
