Underground Utilities
We install water mains, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and power and communications conduit for subdivisions and commercial sites. Each run goes from open trench to compacted backfill, ready for the inspector.
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Albany grew up where the Calapooia River meets the Willamette, and much of its ground stays wet in winter. NRCS maps show poorly drained Concord and Dayton silt loams in town and Bashaw silty clay east of I-5. On those soils, the water table can sit at the surface in the wet months. For a builder with raw land in East Albany, that sets the order of the work.
Albany is part of our service area, about 30 miles southeast of our shop and yard in Dallas, Oregon. Turner Excavation is an excavation contractor, and here we take on subdivision and lot development for builders and developers. We also handle commercial site work, and grading and drainage for farms and nurseries. Call or text (503) 507-2919 to talk through the land and the plans.
Tell us about the project and where the site is. We look at the job and put a free estimate in writing.
Albany counted 56,472 people in the 2020 Census, more than a third above its 2000 count. The city calls East Albany a key growth area, with much of its future growth on that side of I-5. Its East Albany Plan, adopted in 2023, covers about 2,800 acres inside the urban growth boundary east of the freeway.
Timber Linn Park and the Linn County Fair and Expo Center sit on the plan area's west side, near I-5. The plan also notes several streams and wetlands, which can make streets and utility lines harder to connect. The city's Cox Creek Interceptor project adds sewer capacity meant to support development east of I-5.
Each new lot out there needs water, sanitary sewer, storm and dry utilities before the builder digs. Our underground utility installation covers the mains in the street and the services to each lot. That includes the trench, bedding, pipe and backfill, compacted for the street that goes on top.
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put Albany at about 43 inches of rain a year. About nine inches in ten fall from October through May, and July and August each average under half an inch. So we plan mass grading and long trench runs for the dry months, when the ground can carry heavy equipment.
Woodburn silt loam covers large parts of Albany, downtown included, and it drains better than the Concord and Dayton soils. Even so, its water table rises to about two feet below the surface in the wet season. The NRCS survey rates the Concord and Dayton soils very limited for homes with basements. On that ground, the engineer may call for structural fill and drainage around a building pad.
In Albany, most stormwater runs from private property to a grate in the street. From there, pipes carry it untreated to the nearest waterway, in a system separate from the sanitary sewer. Our storm drainage and French drains move water off building pads and farm ground. Where there is an engineered plan, we build to it.
Inside the city limits, the City of Albany issues the local permits. Its Community Development Department at City Hall holds the building and planning teams. Erosion control and encroachment permit applications go through the city's online ePermitting site. Public Works Engineering runs the erosion control program and the Public Improvement Permit process.
A Public Works fill permit may apply to grading over public utilities or in a watercourse. Development in the city's significant wetlands and riparian corridors needs a Natural Resource Impact Review. Work that affects wetlands may also need a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Outside the city limits, unincorporated land in North Albany is in Benton County, whose Community Development Department runs building permits. Rural land on the Linn County side falls under the Linn County Planning and Building Department. Each office answers the questions for a given parcel, and we point you there early.
Most commercial development in East Albany sits along US 20, the Santiam Highway, or near I-5. A new commercial building there needs clearing, mass grading, the pad and utilities to the building first. Our commercial site work runs through the parking lot subgrade and base rock. Our paving subcontractor lays the asphalt, and the concrete crew we bring in pours the curbs.
Albany dates to 1848, and three of its National Register historic districts sit along the Willamette River. A 1985 city ordinance requires review before a designated historic building there is demolished. New construction inside those districts goes through review too.
Along the river, the Dave Clark Trail passes old industrial land that is starting to turn into housing and shops. On sites like that, demolition comes before the new pad. We remove old structures, slabs, asphalt and abandoned utilities, then grade the site.
Communities and areas we serve around Albany: North Albany, Downtown Albany, Hackleman District, Monteith District, East Albany, South Albany, Knox Butte, Timber Linn Park, Grand Prairie Park, Talking Water Gardens, Millersburg, Tangent.
Albany ZIP codes served: 97321, 97322.
Albany is part of our service area. We look at the job first, then put a free estimate in writing.
(503) 507-2919 We install water mains, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and power and communications conduit for subdivisions and commercial sites. Each run goes from open trench to compacted backfill, ready for the inspector.
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We turn raw land into finished, buildable lots for builders and developers. Every underground utility goes in before the streets, and each lot is left graded for its builder.
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We clear and grade commercial sites, build the pad and run the utilities to the building. We bring the parking lot to base rock, and our paving and concrete subcontractors finish it.
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Excavator land clearing for building sites and development parcels, with the stumps and roots pulled out. We strip and stockpile the topsoil, then rough grade the ground for the next stage.
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Mass grading and cut and fill for subdivisions, commercial sites, farms and nurseries. We move the soil to the grades on the plan and compact the fill in layers.
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Trenching for water lines, power conduit and drain lines across acreage and commercial sites. Every run starts with an Oregon 811 locate request and ends in compacted backfill.
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French drains, curtain drains, catch basins and culverts for building sites, subdivisions, farms and nurseries. We build each system on a steady fall to an outlet, to the engineer's plan where there is one.
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We build subdivision streets and private roads from the subgrade up, with the utilities under them laid first. Our concrete and paving subcontractors pour the curbs and lay the asphalt, under our management.
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Long gravel driveways, farm and nursery access roads, equipment yards and construction entrances for builders and landowners. We grade the road and set the culverts, then build up the base rock to carry trucks.
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We handle foundation excavation and build compacted building pads for homes on acreage, shops, barns and commercial buildings. Footings are cut to the engineer's plan, and every pad is graded to drain.
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Directional drilling carries water services and power and communications conduit under roads, paved drives, parking lots and creeks. The pipe pulls back through the bore, and the surface above it stays in place.
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We take down old structures and break out the concrete and asphalt under them. Our dump trucks haul the debris off, and we grade the site for the next build.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Albany. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the land is and what the project needs, and send the plans if you have them. Call or text (503) 507-2919 or use the form, and we will set a time to look at the job.
Tell us about the project and where the site is. We look at the job and put a free estimate in writing.