British ColumbiaBC
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.2 m
- Locate notice
- 3 business days
- Statutory holdback
- 10%
- Prompt payment
- Construction Prompt Payment Act passed 2025, not yet in force
CivilConstruction.ca · the field manual for Canadian civil work
Civil construction in Canada, from the ground up.
What each discipline involves, what the work costs at 2026 tendered prices, the rules in your province, and calculators that work in metric. When you are ready to price a job, send a project brief.
$2.6Tto replace Canada’s public roads, bridges and water systems (2022)
14.8%of public road inventory rated poor or very poor
$155.8Bspent on engineering construction in Canada in 2024
$11.20/m³average common excavation, Alberta highway tenders, 2025–26
Chapter 01 · Dig
Earthworks & excavation
Cut, fill, strip, haul, compact. Every civil job starts as a volume of ground that has to be moved, and every tender prices it by the cubic metre.
Read the discipline guide$11.20/m³Average common excavation price on Alberta provincial highway work, across 24 contractsAlberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, item G225, contracts tendered May 1, 2025 to June 24, 2026
Chapter 02 · Lay
Underground utilities
Watermain, sanitary and storm sewer, manholes and services, laid in shored trenches to depths set by frost and grade.
Read the discipline guide221,532 kmof public potable water pipe in Canada; 14.3% of it rated poor or very poorStatistics Canada, Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 2022 reference year
Chapter 03 · Pave
Roadbuilding & paving
Subgrade, granular base, asphalt. Most paving happens in a short season, often at night to keep traffic moving.
Read the discipline guide$88.90/tAverage price for EPS Mix Type M1 asphalt concrete pavement, across 11 Alberta contractsAlberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, item Q992, contracts tendered May 1, 2025 to June 24, 2026
Chapter 04 · Span
Bridges & structures
Piers, girders, decks and culverts: the structures that carry roads over rivers, rail and each other.
Read the discipline guide48,360publicly owned bridges in Canada; 14.6% of them rated poor or very poorStatistics Canada, Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 2022 reference year
Chapter 05 · Bore
Tunnels & trenchless
Directional drilling, microtunnelling, pipe bursting and bored tunnels: getting pipe under what cannot be dug up.
Read the discipline guide538public tunnels in Canada’s core infrastructure inventoryStatistics Canada, Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 2022 reference year
Section A–A
What is under a Canadian street
Before anyone digs, a locator paints the ground. The colours are a national code: white for the proposed excavation, pink for survey, and one colour for each kind of buried service. Tap a colour to find it in the section.
Unit price index · 2026
What the work is going for
Real averages from public highway tenders, not estimates: Alberta publishes the three lowest bids on every item it tenders. Here are sixteen that set the budget on most civil jobs.
ItemDescriptionUnit2026 avgChange
G225Common Excavationper m³ · 24 contracts$11.20▲ 25.0% vs 2025
B100Subgrade Excavationper m³ · 15 contracts$28.34—
C055Topsoil and Subsoil Strippingper m³ · 3 contracts$8.74—
B282Granular Base Course - Des. 2 Cl. 25per t · 26 contracts$33.65▲ 15.9% vs 2025
Q992Asphalt Concrete Pavement - EPS Mix Type M1per t · 11 contracts$88.90▲ 10.4% vs 2025
Q998Asphalt Concrete Pavement - Superpaveper t · 6 contracts$141.91▲ 65.7% vs 2025
Q554Cold Milling Asphalt Pavementper m² · 16 contracts$3.09▲ 8.0% vs 2025
D410Culverts - Supply and Install (600 mm dia. C.S.P.)per m · 20 contracts$372.25▼ 1.4% vs 2025
D435Culverts - Supply and Install (1 200 mm dia. C.S.P.)per m · 5 contracts$1,081▲ 1.0% vs 2025
X325Curb and Gutterper m · 5 contracts$183.00▼ 23.3% vs 2025
F841Concrete - Class HPCper m³ · 21 contracts$4,133▲ 31.8% vs 2025
F812Supply of Piling - Plain Steel H-Pileper m · 16 contracts$262.86▲ 38.4% vs 2025
S805Strong Post W-Beam Guardrail - Supply and Installper m · 23 contracts$169.36▲ 17.1% vs 2025
E609Hydro-Seedingper ha · 15 contracts$12,582▲ 17.8% vs 2025
G101Clearing and Mulchingper ha · 20 contracts$16,439▲ 123.5% vs 2025
E435Erosion Control Barrier (Silt Fence)per m · 21 contracts$14.30▲ 28.8% vs 2025
Source: Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, Unit Price Averages (workbook updated 2026-06-24). average of the three lowest bids on each contract, weighted by bid quantity; contracts tendered May 1, 2025 to June 24, 2026. Provincial averages; highway-scale quantities.All 264 items and regional prices →
Sixteen disciplines
The trades that build the ground plane
From site servicing on the edge of a city to piling a wharf on the coast: scope, sequence, equipment, the rules that apply and what drives the price.
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C-101
Earthworks & excavation
Stripping, bulk excavation, cut and fill, rock, compaction and the volumes that drive every estimate.
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C-102
Site servicing & land development
Water, sewer, storm and roads for new lots, and the agreements, levies and sequence that come with them.
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C-103
Underground utilities
Watermain, sanitary and storm sewer, manholes and services, from trench design to testing.
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C-104
Roadbuilding & paving
How Canadian roads are built layer by layer, and what drives paving, milling and rehabilitation costs.
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C-105
Bridges, culverts & structures
Piling, piers, girders, decks, culverts and the rehabilitation work that keeps them in service.
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C-106
Hydrovac excavation
Non-destructive digging with water and vacuum: daylighting utilities, winter work and slurry disposal.
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C-107
Trenchless & directional drilling
Horizontal directional drilling, auger boring, microtunnelling, pipe bursting and lining.
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C-108
Concrete & flatwork
Curb and gutter, sidewalks, pads and structural concrete, and the cold-weather rules that govern them.
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C-109
Demolition & site clearing
Structure demolition, hazardous-materials surveys, permits, recycling and clearing a site for new work.
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C-110
Marine construction
Wharves, piling from barges, seawalls, riprap and in-water work windows on both coasts and inland waters.
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C-111
Rail construction
Track, ballast, sidings, crossings and the access and flagging rules around live railways.
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C-112
Aggregates & gravel
Pit run, crushed gravel, base and subbase gradations, supply prices and haul economics.
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C-113
Snow & winter works
Frozen-ground excavation, ground thaw, cold-weather concrete, winter roads and snow hauling.
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C-114
Municipal infrastructure
How cities specify, tender and renew roads, pipes and ponds, and the standards each one publishes.
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C-115
Dewatering
Sumps, well points and deep wells, discharge permits and how long it takes to get an excavation dry.
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C-116
Grading, lot grading & retaining walls
Rough and final grading, lot-grading plans and certificates, land clearing and retaining walls.
The ground truth
Where the renewal work is
Statistics Canada rates every class of public infrastructure by remaining service life. “Poor” means less than 40% of its expected life is left; “very poor” means less than 10%.
Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0288-01, Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 2022 reference year (released 2025). The full picture, by asset and owner →
Rules by province
Four numbers to know before you break ground
Trench protection depth, locate notice, statutory holdback and the prompt-payment clock. Each is set in provincial law or by the province’s one-call centre, and each links to the source text.
AlbertaAB
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.5 m
- Locate notice
- 3–5 full working days
- Statutory holdback
- 10%
- Prompt payment
- Pay a proper invoice within 28 days
SaskatchewanSK
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.2 m
- Locate notice
- 3 full business days
- Statutory holdback
- 10%
- Prompt payment
- Pay a proper invoice within 28 days
ManitobaMB
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.5 m
- Locate notice
- 3 full working days
- Statutory holdback
- 7.5%
- Prompt payment
- Pay a proper invoice within 28 days
OntarioON
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.2 m
- Locate notice
- Owners must mark within 5 business days
- Statutory holdback
- 10%
- Prompt payment
- Pay a proper invoice within 28 days
Nova ScotiaNS
- Protect workers in trenches deeper than
- 1.2 m
- Locate notice
- 3 business days (Info-Excavation)
- Statutory holdback
- 10%
- Prompt payment
- Prompt payment legislated; regulations pending
Summaries only; read the regulation before you rely on it. Quebec requires engineer-specified shoring by default; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI use 1.2 m. Trench rules in every province →
The Canadian season
The calendar sets the schedule
Thaw closes rural roads to heavy loads in spring, paving plants run hard through summer, and below 5 °C concrete needs a cold-weather plan. Here is the year a prairie contractor plans around.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Spring road bans · AB SK MB
Manitoba’s restriction window runs from March 1 to June 10 depending on zone; Saskatchewan’s 2026 restrictions began March 20; Alberta’s start once thaw reaches 25 cm.
Paving & earthworks season
Hot-mix plants, grading and underground crews run at capacity; locate centres recommend extra lead time from May to September.
Cold-weather concretingCold-weather concreting
CSA A23.1 treats weather as cold when the air may fall below 5 °C within 24 hours of placing.
Frozen-ground works · ground thaw · hydrovacWinter works
Hydrovac, ground-thaw units and winter roads keep excavation going through the freeze.
Dates vary by region and year; follow the official road-ban orders. Spring road bans → · Winter construction →
Metric, Canadian, free
Calculators for the takeoff
Cut and fill, trenches with sloping or a box, asphalt and aggregate tonnage, concrete, haul-truck cycles. Every one shows its formula and its assumptions.
- T-201 Cut & fill (earthwork volume) Existing vs design levels on a grid, or cross-sections by chainage: net cut, fill and balance in m³.
- T-202 Excavation volume A pit or basement with sloped sides: bank volume, loose volume after swell, tonnes and truckloads.
- T-203 Trench excavation Trench volume for vertical walls in a box or cut-back slopes, with bedding, pipe displacement and backfill.
- T-204 Pipe bedding & backfill Bedding below, embedment around and cover over a pipe, in m³ and tonnes per metre and per run.
- T-205 Asphalt tonnage Compacted hot-mix tonnes from area and lift thickness, with truckloads and a budget at 2026 unit prices.
- T-206 Gravel & aggregate tonnage Tonnes of base, subbase or pit run for a pad, driveway or road, compacted or loose.
- T-207 Concrete volume Slabs, strip footings, round columns and curb and gutter, with a waste allowance and truckloads.
- T-208 Haul truck cycle time Load, haul, dump and return times to trucks required, hourly production and the matched fleet.
- T-209 Swell & shrink converter Convert between bank, loose and compacted volumes for clay, loam, sand, gravel and rock.
- T-210 Slope & grade converter Convert percent grade, horizontal-to-vertical ratio and degrees, and read cut-back angles.
Project brief
Every job starts with a stake in the ground.
Tell us what you are building, where and when. A person reads every brief and replies by email, usually with questions first.
Start a project briefSources for this page28
- The Daily - Canada's Core Public Infrastructure Survey: Replacement values, 2022Statistics Canada · 2022-12-31; released 2024-10-21
- Table 34-10-0288-01 Inventory distribution of core public infrastructure assets by physical condition ratingStatistics Canada · 2022 ref year; released 2025-02-04
- Table 34-10-0063-01 Capital expenditures, non-residential tangible assets, by type of asset and geographyStatistics Canada · 2024 (latest year in table); released 2026-02-25
- Table 34-10-0287-01 Inventory of core public infrastructure assetsStatistics Canada · 2022 ref year; released 2025-02-04
- WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation Part 20, Construction, Excavation and Demolition (ss. 20.78-20.95)WorkSafeBC · retrieved 2026-09-24
- Click or call before you dig (WorkSafeBC toolbox meeting guide) and BC 1 Call support pagesBC 1 Call / WorkSafeBC · retrieved 2026-09-24 (BC 1 Call support page not directly fetchable; from search excerpts)
- Builders Lien Act, SBC 1997, c 45King's Printer, Victoria (BC Laws) · Act current to 2026-09-15
- Alberta OHS Code (Alta Reg 191/2021), Part 32 Excavating and TunnellingGovernment of Alberta (OHS legislation search) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- Notification ProcessUtility Safety Partners · retrieved 2026-09-24
- Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, RSA 2000, c P-26.4 (office consolidation current as of April 1, 2025)Alberta King's Printer · consolidation current as of 2025-04-01
- The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 (RRS c S-15.1 Reg 10), Part 17 Excavations, Trenches, Tunnels and Excavated ShaftsGovernment of Saskatchewan (Publications Saskatchewan) · consolidation incl. SR 31/2021 (unofficial consolidation)
- FAQs - Sask 1st CallSask 1st Call · retrieved 2026-09-24
- The Builders' Lien Act, SS 1984-85-86, c B-7.1 (consolidation incl. 2024, c 4)Government of Saskatchewan (Publications Saskatchewan) · consolidation incl. 2024, c 4 (unofficial consolidation)
- Workplace Safety and Health Regulation, M.R. 217/2006, Part 26 Excavations and TunnelsGovernment of Manitoba (Manitoba Laws) · current 2026-09-01 to 2026-09-22
- Contractors - Click Before You Dig ManitobaClick Before You Dig Manitoba · retrieved 2026-09-24
- The Builders' Liens Act, C.C.S.M. c. B91Government of Manitoba (Manitoba Laws) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- O. Reg. 213/91 Construction Projects, Part III Excavations (ss. 222-242)Government of Ontario (e-Laws) · consolidation current to 2026-09-21
- Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, S.O. 2012, c. 4Government of Ontario (e-Laws) · current to 2026-09-21
- Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (official Word consolidation)Government of Ontario (e-Laws) · consolidation file saved 2026-01-05; current to 2026-09-21
- Occupational Safety General Regulations (N.S.), Part 14 Excavations and Trenches (ss. 166-173)Government of Nova Scotia · retrieved 2026-09-24
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Info-exInfo-Excavation · retrieved 2026-09-24
- Builders' Lien Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 277 (Legislative Counsel electronic version, amended to 2014, c. 42)Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia · consolidation amended to 2014 (unofficial electronic version)
- Prompt payment legislationGovernment of British Columbia · page updated 2026-08-20
- Prompt payment and dispute resolution for the construction industry: engagementGovernment of Nova Scotia · engagement page (survey closed 2023-04-10); status as consolidated 2026-09-24
- Manitoba's Spring Road Restriction (SRR) ProgramGovernment of Manitoba · from search excerpt of gov.mb.ca SRR pages; zone page not directly fetched
- Secondary Highways in Southern Saskatchewan to Begin Spring Weight Restrictions Friday to Protect InfrastructureGovernment of Saskatchewan · 2026-03-19
- Road restrictions and bansGovernment of Alberta · retrieved 2026-09-24
- Cold Weather Concreting technical specification (reproduces CSA A23.1:24 with CSA Group permission)Ready Mixed Concrete Association of Ontario (citing CSA A23.1:24) · CSA A23.1:24; RMCAO document Nov/Dec 2024