By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Before you dig on that next project, make sure you call Missouri 811.
The hotline, established in 1986, locates utility lines so you don't cut into any cables or pipes.
Executive Director Randy Norden says the hotline has been very effective
"In 2023 we received nearly 1.2 million excavation requests," Norden tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And so, in the form of notifications as a rule of thumb it's about 5-1, so for every request we get that's about five utilities that we're notifying."
April is Safe Dig Month, and the Missouri 811 hotline is using that platform to remind everyone that it's the law to contact the hotline before you dig.
Norden says if you hit a line, you can be held liable.
"Now for something like an old copper wire phone line, it's fairly inexpensive, but if you happen to break into fiber that can get into thousands of dollars to repair," Norden explains. "Then there's the element of striking a gas line, or an electric line, which can really ruin someone's day, so we really don't want anybody striking those."
Norden recalls an instance in O'Fallon.
"Where an excavator did damage to a gas line, which blew up a house," Norden says.
Fortunately, Norden says, no one was inside the home. Norden also recalls smaller instances, such as recently in Springfield
"Where a gas line was struck, and although nobody was hurt, a backhoe was burned," Norden says.
Norden reminds everyone it's the law to contact Missouri 811 before you dig either by phone or online.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.