Case Study | SEPTA — Conshohocken Park-and-Ride Station
Locating the Water Main Blocking Construction
Exodigo helped SEPTA and Aqua Pennsylvania locate a mis-mapped active water main that conventional locating and extensive excavation had failed to find — unblocking parking garage construction at Conshohocken Station.
- 1 dayto pinpoint the lost main
- 30+ ftoffset from mapped location
- 25 ftverified depth of located main
Project Summary
A single unknown line had stopped construction.
Exodigo conducted a non-intrusive subsurface utility scan of a discrete site on behalf of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. (Aqua), the local water utility. The site was the future location of a parking garage serving Conshohocken Station on SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown commuter rail line.
Construction was blocked: SEPTA could not build above an active water main, and Aqua had been unable to locate the line from existing records — even after extensive trenching. With conventional locating methods ineffective at the site, SEPTA tasked Exodigo with pinpointing the main precisely so relocation, and garage construction, could move forward.
THE CHALLENGE
A critical water main no one could find.
Inaccurate records
The main's mapped position was materially wrong, offering no reliable basis for locating or relocating it.
Failed conventional locating
Conditions rendered standard locating methods ineffective.
Blocked construction
SEPTA was prohibited from building above an active main, holding the parking garage on the critical path.
Exodigo's Approach
From failed records to verified reality.
Exodigo combined record review, prior locating data, and non-intrusive multi-sensor scanning to resolve the main’s true location without additional blind excavation.
ExoInfo
Remote Data Collection & Integration
Exodigo began by reviewing the available records and Aqua's prior locating data for the site — where the mapped position had already proven unreliable — establishing a baseline and focusing the scan on resolving the main's true location.
Utility Mapping
Non-Intrusive On-Site Reality Capture
Exodigo conducted a non-intrusive, multi-sensor scan of the site using the ExoCart platform, capturing both conductive and non-conductive utilities without any ground disturbance. Where conventional locating had failed against inaccurate records and difficult site conditions, the sensor suite resolved the main's horizontal and vertical geometry directly. Exodigo located the line in a single day — over 30 feet from its mapped position — and Aqua's subsequent targeted excavation confirmed it exactly, at a depth of 25 feet. Field data was processed into a Composite Utility Map compliant with ASCE 38-22, delivered in ArcGIS (ESRI), AutoCAD (DWG), PDF, and Excel formats and referenced to the Pennsylvania South Coordinate System.
Impact
The certainty to move forward
Lost Main Found
Located an active water main that records, conventional locating, and extensive trenching had failed to find.
30+ Feet Off Record
Revealed the main was more than 30 feet away from its mapped position.
One Targeted Dig
Turned an open-ended excavation search into one confirmed location.
Garage Construction Unblocked
Enabled relocation planning so SEPTA could move forward with the parking garage.
Reduced Safety Risk
Helped avoid continued speculative trenching and the risk of striking or building over an active main.
Based on these results…we believe there may be opportunities to expedite and ensure more accurate existing underground utility survey information for project delivery across multiple divisions at SEPTA by leveraging Exodigo’s innovative technology and approach to subsurface utility location mapping.
— Robert Tangi, Project Manager, SEPTA
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