The morning the Mississippi River changed my whole routine

Back in 2018 I was running a job near Baton Rouge on the Mississippi. We hit a buried cable nobody marked on the maps. Shut us down for three days while we sorted it out with the utility company. Now I always do a sonar sweep before I drop the cutterhead in a new spot. Anyone else ever hit something that wasn't on the charts?

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dylan_rodriguez5mo ago

Shut us down for three days" man that hurts to even read. I used to be one of those guys who thought "eh the maps are probably fine, let's just get moving" until I punched through what was supposed to be a clear gas line easement. No flags, no markings, nothing. Turned out some old pipe from the 70s was sitting two feet deeper than any record showed. Cost my boss a lot of money and a long conversation with the state inspector. Now I triple check everything before I break ground, even if the paperwork says it's a clean dig. Your sonar idea is smart, I might have to steal that.

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the_kai5mo ago

@dylan_rodriguez thats exactly why I never trust old maps, my buddy hit a buried car frame once near the riverbank.

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