Utility Support
Water, sewer, storm and conduit trenched, set and backfilled — coordinated tightly with your crew.
Utility support is the trenching, installation, backfill and restoration side of underground utilities — water, sewer, storm, gas sleeve, electric and communications conduit — including road openings and emergency repairs.
- Plumbing, electrical and mechanical contractors who need a trench crew
- Homeowners replacing a failed water or sewer lateral
- Builders running services to a new structure
- Campuses, municipalities and commercial owners with breaks and emergency repairs
- Water and sewer lateral install and replacement
- Storm and sanitary main work
- Electric, gas and communications conduit and duct bank
- Permitted road openings and restoration
- Emergency break and leak repairs
- Trench shoring, backfill, compaction and surface restoration
- Step 01
Locate
PA One Call placed and all marks verified on site. Existing services near the dig are hand-exposed.
- Step 02
Permit
Road-opening, highway-occupancy or utility permits pulled where our scope requires them.
- Step 03
Protect
Traffic control, plating and trench protection set before the cut.
- Step 04
Trench & install
Trench cut to grade, bedding placed, pipe or conduit set and coupled, inspected before cover.
- Step 05
Backfill & compact
Backfilled in lifts with the specified material and compacted to spec so the surface doesn't settle.
- Step 06
Restore
Asphalt, concrete, stone or lawn restored to township or owner specification.
A residential sewer or water lateral is usually 1–2 days. Emergency breaks are responded to same day or next day when we have crew availability. Permitted road openings depend on the township's review time — typically 1–3 weeks for the permit, then 1–3 days of work.
Road openings require a township or PennDOT highway occupancy permit, and we pull those as part of our scope. Water and sewer connections require authority permits and inspections, usually held by the owner or plumber of record. We coordinate all of it and keep the paperwork straight.
- Access for an excavator along the trench line
- Parking or traffic control space when working in a street
- Inspection scheduling coordinated with the utility or township
- Accepting that inspections must happen before backfill — we won't cover uninspected work
- We don't make final plumbing or electrical terminations — licensed trades do that inside the building
- Live gas and high-voltage connections are made by the utility
- Directional boring is subcontracted when open cut isn't practical
- Final asphalt paving is often placed by a paving subcontractor to meet township spec
We don't publish flat prices for this work because no two sites are the same, and a number pulled out of the air helps nobody. These are the factors that move a utility support quote up or down:
- Trench length, depth and surface type being cut
- Shoring or dewatering requirements
- Permit and traffic-control costs
- Restoration standard — lawn vs. concrete vs. full-depth asphalt
- Emergency and after-hours mobilization
- Conflicts with existing utilities
Do you pull the road-opening permit?
Yes, when the road work is in our scope. We handle the township or PennDOT application, bonding and inspections.
How fast can you respond to a water main break?
For active breaks we mobilize as fast as crew and equipment allow — often the same day. Call the office directly rather than using a form.
Can you work nights to avoid disrupting my business?
Yes. We've run permitted night cuts on active streets and campuses to keep traffic and operations moving.
Utility Support across the Lehigh Valley and surrounding townships: