How long does a new driveway excavation take in Moncton?

Duration is not something we found published data on for Moncton driveway excavation jobs, and giving you a number of hours or days would be a guess. What we can tell you is that the machine time is the best-published cost figure, and that is what drives both the schedule and the quote: a mini excavator runs $65 to $150 per hour and a standard excavator $150 to $250 per hour, based on published price guides read in September 2026.

Several things shape how long a contractor needs on site. The length and width of the driveway, how much material has to come out, and where the spoil goes all affect machine hours. If rock is encountered, a hydraulic breaker attachment runs $200 to $300 per hour. Access to the site, whether the existing grade needs significant cutting or building up, and how far trucks have to travel to dump spoil are all factors the contractor judges on site.

Before the Machine Arrives in Moncton

Two separate locate requests must go in before any digging. Info-Excavation, reached through Click Before You Dig, needs three working days notice; the locate is valid until the end date written on the request. NB Power runs its own separate underground locate service and asks for at least five business days notice; that locate is valid for 60 days from the date on the form and covers only NB Power-owned lines. Any private lines, such as wiring run to a garage or shed by a past owner, are yours to find and mark before the contractor starts.

If the driveway connects to a City of Moncton street, the City requires a Curb Cut Permit and tenders the curb cutting to its own contractors. Curb cut fees run $48.63 per metre (minimum $188.40 for a cut under four metres) from April 1 to October 31, and $60.78 per metre (minimum $243.11) from November 1 to March 31, all before HST. Ask the City whether your job also needs a building and development permit; Moncton requires those for new construction and additions.

If the driveway runs within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, measured horizontally from the top of the bank, a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit from the province is required before any ground disturbance. The fee for a single alteration is $25.

A fair written quote for a driveway excavation should spell out the hourly rate and machine type, how rock is priced if it is found, where spoil is hauled and who pays trucking, what base material is included and at what depth, and how the site is left at the end. Ask for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate before work starts; WorkSafeNB recommends checking that a contractor is registered and in good standing, because a customer can be held responsible for premiums if the contractor is not. Under the Construction Remedies Act, you must retain a holdback of 10% of the contract price for 60 days after substantial performance.

Once the driveway is finished, file the locate tickets from Info-Excavation and NB Power, any City of Moncton permit and curb cut approval, the written quote and final invoice, and any inspection sign-off, because those records are what you reach for if a dispute or a future dig ever puts the work in question.