SHEET 3 OF 8 · PROJECT NOTES · 2020 TO 2025

Projects

Six jobs from the last six years, written up the way the crew chief tells it: what we were asked to do, what went sideways, and what came out the other end.

Hover or focus a pin to find its project. Dashed ring: where most of our work sits.

Index of case notes

01140 lots in Meridian2023Meridian, Ada County · Homebuilder and developer
02Canal realignment for an irrigation district2022Parma, Canyon County · Irrigation district
03Highway shoulder widening topo2024McCall, Valley County · Highway district
04Ranch boundary resolved with the GLO plat2021Council, Adams County · Family cattle ranch
05Drone volumetrics for a gravel pit2025Mountain Home, Elmore County · Aggregate producer
06Stormwater design for an elementary school2024Caldwell, Canyon County · School district

Client names stay off the page unless the client asks otherwise. Locations are the nearest town.

Aerial view of furrowed green fields divided by dirt access lanes — Furrowed fields from 300 ft, drone test flightCase 01

Homebuilder and developer · 2023

140 lots in Meridian

Location: Meridian, Ada County
Scope: Topographic survey, preliminary plat, three final plats, grading and drainage, road and utility design, construction staking.
Equipment: Three GNSS rovers, one robotic total station, monthly drone orthophotos for progress billing.
The tricky part: A diagonal irrigation lateral cut across Phase 2, and a 1970s well-house easement that was missing from the title report. We found it in the district's own ledger and redrew the lot fabric around it.
Result: 140 lots, three final plats recorded in 11 months, 4.2 miles of public street staked, zero plat resubmittals.

Aerial view of dense curved crop rows with two workers walking between them — Irrigated rows, aerial viewCase 02

Irrigation district · 2022

Canal realignment for an irrigation district

Location: Parma, Canyon County
Scope: Route survey, easement descriptions, hydraulic grades, construction plans, staking and as-built.
Equipment: RTK rovers, digital levels for invert grades, an RTK drone for before-and-after surfaces.
The tricky part: 1.9 miles had to move inside a 20-week winter shutdown, across 31 landowners, with a grade tolerance of 0.02 ft over 600 ft on the concrete flume.
Result: 1.9 miles realigned, 31 easements described, water on the new channel April 11, final grades within 0.03 ft.

Two-lane asphalt road with yellow edge posts running toward dark mountains — Two-lane highway with delineator postsCase 03

Highway district · 2024

Highway shoulder widening topo

Location: McCall, Valley County
Scope: Corridor topography and right-of-way survey for 6.4 miles of two-lane highway.
Equipment: Two crews with GNSS and total stations, a drone for the cut slopes and rock faces.
The tricky part: Steep cut slopes, one lane always open, and a snow-free window of about 40 days. Flaggers set the pace, so we flew the slopes and walked only the pavement.
Result: 6.4 miles surveyed in 17 field days, 212 right-of-way monuments recovered, 3 encroachments flagged before design started.

Pine forest and a pasture clearing below a ridge in late light — Timber and pasture below the ridge, eveningCase 04

Family cattle ranch · 2021

Ranch boundary resolved with the GLO plat

Location: Council, Adams County
Scope: Historical research, retracement of 640 acres, record of survey.
Equipment: GNSS static sessions, robotic total station, a metal detector and a long afternoon with a shovel.
The tricky part: Two earlier surveys disagreed by 14 feet. The 1911 General Land Office field notes called a ponderosa bearing tree that was long gone. We found the stump scar and the pit, and held the corner there.
Result: 14-foot discrepancy settled without a lawsuit, 19 hours in the archive, 38 days from first call to filed record of survey.

Layered orange rock outcrop in low sun with a sloped face behind — Rock face and talus at low sunCase 05

Aggregate producer · 2025

Drone volumetrics for a gravel pit

Location: Mountain Home, Elmore County
Scope: Monthly volume surveys of 11 stockpiles, surveyed ground control, a reconciliation report for the lender.
Equipment: RTK multirotor with a 20 MP camera, a base station, 24 numbered ground targets.
The tricky part: Stockpiles move daily, dust hazes the afternoon flights, and the pit floor floods after rain. We fly at 7 am and shoot the water line for a below-surface correction.
Result: 412,000 cubic yards measured within 1.6% of scale-house tonnage. A 38-minute flight replaced two days on foot.

Large terraced lawns with gravel paths, seen from above, and a small car on the road below — Graded lawn panels and paths, overheadCase 06

School district · 2024

Stormwater design for an elementary school

Location: Caldwell, Canyon County
Scope: Topographic survey, grading and drainage design, infiltration layout and plans for an 8.3-acre campus.
Equipment: Robotic total station, digital levels, infiltration test data from the geotechnical firm.
The tricky part: Groundwater rises to 4 feet during irrigation season and no discharge is allowed off the site. The design had to work in April, not just in August.
Result: 9 drywells and one detention swale hold the 25-year storm on site. Stamped plans in 14 weeks, no drainage comments on second review.

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