The Workers Beneath the Streets: Underground Utility Construction and the State of the Industry

Published on July 7, 2026

Every time a faucet runs, a toilet flushes, or a storm drain clears floodwater off a street, it is because someone built and maintains the underground utility network that makes it possible. That network, water lines, sewer lines, storm drainage, and the buried communication and power infrastructure running alongside it, is some of the least visible and most essential work in construction. It is also an industry facing a workforce problem that deserves more public attention than it gets.

An industry running short on people

The construction industry as a whole is short on skilled labor, and underground utility work, which requires specialized excavation, trenching, and safety training beyond a standard construction license, feels that shortage acutely. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the U.S. construction industry needs to attract approximately 349,000 net new workers in 2026, and that number is projected to rise to 456,000 in 2027 as infrastructure and data center construction spending accelerates. The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) projects that roughly 41 percent of the current construction workforce will retire by 2031, taking decades of institutional knowledge about working safely around buried utility lines with them. Industry surveys cited by ABC also find that 92 percent of construction firms report difficulty finding workers to hire, and workforce shortages are now the leading cause of project delays, affecting 45 percent of contractors in the past year.

For underground utility work specifically, this shortage is not just an inconvenience. Apprenticeship and certification pathways for excavation, trenching safety, and utility locating typically take years to produce a fully qualified worker, which means the gap between retiring veterans and trained replacements will not close quickly.

The safety stakes are already high

While the industry works through its workforce challenges, the underground infrastructure already in the ground remains vulnerable to damage from digging that is not properly coordinated. The Common Ground Alliance reports that more than 550 underground utility strikes occur every day across the United States, most of them preventable. An estimated 60 million American households plan an outdoor digging project each year, and roughly one in six of them, more than 10 million homeowners, are likely to start digging without first calling 811 to have utility lines located. In 2025, accidental cuts to telecommunications lines caused 43 percent of 9-1-1 center service disruptions nationally, incidents that could largely be avoided through routine utility locates before excavation begins.

Those numbers point to two problems at once: a shrinking pool of trained professionals who know how to work safely around buried infrastructure, and a public that is not always aware of the basic step, calling 811 before digging, that prevents most utility strikes in the first place.

Why trained, licensed underground contractors matter more, not less

As experienced crews retire faster than they can be replaced, the value of a contractor who holds a dedicated underground utility license, rather than treating excavation as an extension of general construction, goes up. In Florida, that distinction is formalized through the Certified Underground and Excavation Contractor license, which requires demonstrated knowledge of trenching safety, utility locating coordination, and the specific failure modes of water, sewer, and storm drainage systems.

How DEC approaches underground work

At Dunol Engineering Corps, our underground utility work is built around that specialized training: a Florida Certified Underground and Excavation Contractor license (CUC057265), FDOT earthwork construction inspection certification, and advanced-level maintenance of traffic (MOT) safety training for work performed near active roadways. Every water main, sewer line, and storm drainage project starts with utility locates and proceeds through documented inspection points, not just a single final check.

The industry's workforce challenges will not resolve quickly, and the infrastructure serving Florida's growing communities will keep expanding regardless. In the meantime, working with contractors who carry the specific licensing and safety training that underground work demands, and remembering to call 811 before any digging project, are the two most effective ways to keep that invisible network reliable and safe.

Dunol Engineering Corps is a Florida Certified Underground and Excavation Contractor (CUC057265) and Certified General Contractor (CGC061343) based in Riverview, FL, serving Hillsborough County and the greater Tampa Bay region. Contact us at [email protected].