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Excavation and Grading Contractor in St. Louis

Kuesel is an excavating, grading, earthmoving and site prep contractor based in O'Fallon, MO, serving St. Louis and St. Charles County since 1963. As an excavation and grading contractor, we take raw ground to finished grade on commercial, industrial, mission-critical and residential development sites — mass excavation, cut and fill, building pads, parking lots and road subgrade. GPS-guided dozers, an owned articulated truck fleet and our own operators do the work.

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Earthwork & Site Grading — Heavy civil earthmoving for site development, roadways, and industrial pad construction throughout the St. Louis area.
Client Tools
Request a Bid Send your ITB, plans, and geotech — we confirm within 1 business day.Site Budget Estimator Conceptual range for earthwork, hauling, subgrade, and utilities.Stabilize vs. Undercut Compare cost, schedule, and trucks for fixing soft subgrade.Hydrovac Estimator Truck-days and a budget range for potholing, slot trenching, and cleanouts.Utility Estimator Water, storm, and sanitary budget ranges by run, depth, and agency.
Poor subgrade?

When the soil under a pad or road won't pass proof roll, the choice is to treat it in place or undercut it. Read our lime vs. cement vs. undercut guide, see our soil stabilization and full-depth reclamation work, or visit our page for civil & geotechnical engineers. Planning the whole site? See how grading fits into our commercial site work sequence.

What we excavate

Excavation services.

As an excavation contractor, Kuesel self-performs the earthmoving that every site starts with. Developers and general contractors bring us in to move the dirt, balance the site and hand over a pad that is ready for the next trade.

  • Mass excavation
  • Cut and fill to the grading plan
  • Earthmoving with our owned articulated truck fleet
  • Building pad excavation and grading
  • Site prep for parking lots and drives
  • Road subgrade
Grading & site prep

Grading & site preparation.

Grading shapes the ground to the elevations on the civil plans; site preparation gets the lot ready for that work. We grade building pads, parking lots and road subgrade to spec, and when the subgrade won't pass proof roll we can use soil stabilization to treat it in place with lime or cement instead of undercutting it.

For the full sequence on a private commercial or industrial lot — clearing, grading, stabilization, utilities and paving prep — see our commercial site work page.

Once the pad is at grade, the same company puts the pipe in the ground. Kuesel is also a site utilities contractor and underground utility contractor for the storm, sanitary and water lines on the sites we grade.

Local crews

Excavating services in O'Fallon and St. Charles County.

Our yard is in O'Fallon, MO, in St. Charles County, so excavating work in St. Charles County and across St. Louis is a short haul for our equipment. We also work across the wider St. Louis metro and the Illinois Metro East.

Self-performed since 1963

Our own operators, our own iron.

Kuesel self-performs mass excavation, cut and fill, and building pad grading with operators from Operating Engineers Local 513 (IUOE 513). We have been a family-owned sitework contractor in O'Fallon, Missouri since 1963.

Our earthwork customers are private developers, general contractors, and industrial and commercial owners who need a pad delivered to grade and on the schedule the rest of the job depends on.

Grading

A grading contractor for St. Louis sites.

Rough grading brings the site to subgrade elevations; fine grading trims pads, parking areas and drives to the tolerances on the civil plans. Our dozers run GPS machine control off the same 3D earthwork model we price from, so grade control is built into the machine instead of chasing stakes. On recent jobs we have delivered pavement subgrade to ±0.10'.

  • Rough and mass grading
  • Fine grading of building pads, parking lots and drives
  • Building pad grading and structural fill pads
  • Cut/fill balancing from AGTEK takeoffs to keep import and export down
  • GPS machine control
  • Pavement subgrade to the plan tolerance
  • Proof rolling with the GC and testing agency
How a grading job runs

Our excavation and grading process.

1. Takeoff and site balance — we build the 3D earthwork model from the civil plans, run AGTEK cut/fill takeoffs and check them against drone-flown topo.

2. Estimate — the job is priced in HCSS HeavyBid, and we confirm receipt of bid documents within 1 business day.

3. Site preparation — clearing, stripping topsoil, construction entrances and haul routes so grading can start cleanly.

4. Mass excavation and cut/fill — dozers on GPS machine control and our owned articulated trucks move material to the grading plan.

5. Fine grading and proof roll — pads, parking areas and drives are trimmed to tolerance and proof-rolled with the GC and testing agency; failing subgrade can be stabilized in place.

Foundation & mass excavation

Foundation & mass excavation.

Mass excavation moves the large volumes — cutting high ground, filling low ground and exporting what the site can't use. Foundation excavation is tighter work: digging basements and footings to the structural plans and backfilling around the foundation once it is built. Kuesel has done basement excavation and exterior foundation backfill for a new institutional building in St. Louis, and moved 2.1 million yards of earth on the Hankook Tire plant expansion in Clarksville, Tennessee.

  • Mass excavation and export
  • Basement and foundation excavation
  • Foundation backfill
  • Structural fill pads
Grading technology

Modeled before we mobilize.

Grading plans are built into 3D earthwork models with AGTEK takeoffs, checked against drone-flown topo, and priced in HCSS HeavyBid. In the field, dozers run GPS machine control off the same model, so the surface we price is the surface we cut.

For public bid data on what local site work costs, see our research on St. Louis site work unit prices.

  • GPS machine control
  • AGTEK takeoffs and site balancing
  • Drone topo verification
  • 3D earthwork models
  • HCSS HeavyBid estimating
FAQ

Earthwork questions from developers and GCs.

What does an excavating contractor do?
An excavating contractor moves earth to get a site ready to build: mass excavation, cut and fill, grading building pads, parking lots and road subgrade, and preparing the ground for utilities and paving. Kuesel does this work with its own operators and equipment.
What's the difference between grading and excavation?
Excavation removes or moves soil — digging out, cutting high ground and hauling material. Grading shapes what is left to the elevations and slopes on the civil plans so water drains and the pad, lot or road sits at the right height. Most site jobs need both.
Do you work in St. Charles County?
Yes. Kuesel is based in O'Fallon, MO, in St. Charles County, and works throughout the county, including St. Charles, St. Peters and Wentzville, as well as across St. Louis.
What excavating services do you provide in O'Fallon?
We provide mass excavation, cut and fill, building pad grading, and site preparation for parking lots, drives and road subgrade. Our O'Fallon base supports commercial and industrial work throughout St. Charles County.
Do you do site prep for commercial and industrial projects?
Yes. Our earthwork customers are private developers, general contractors, and industrial and commercial owners. We prepare and grade building pads, parking lots and drives on commercial and industrial sites.
How do I get an excavation estimate?
Send the plans, specs and geotechnical report through Request a Bid, or contact us with the site location and scope. We confirm receipt within 1 business day.
How large a grading job can Kuesel handle?
Kuesel has delivered large mass grading work, including 2.1 million yards of earth moved for the Hankook Tire plant expansion in Clarksville, Tennessee. We also grade building pads and commercial sites across the St. Louis metro.
What drives the cost to grade a commercial site in Missouri?
The main cost drivers are the volume of cut and fill, whether the site balances or needs import or export, haul distance, soil and rock conditions, subgrade that fails proof roll, and schedule. Accurate takeoffs and a geotechnical report let us price those drivers before bid day.
Do you use GPS machine control?
Yes. Our dozers run GPS machine control from the same 3D earthwork model we use to price the job.
Do you work as a subcontractor to general contractors?
Yes. Most of our earthwork is bid to general contractors and developers as the site subcontractor. Send the plans, specs, and geotech through Request a Bid and we confirm receipt within 1 business day.
Soil stabilization →Water & sewer site utilities →Preconstruction services →Commercial site work →Hydrovac and hydro excavation →For general contractors →Service area →
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Earthwork & Site Grading on the record

Projects we've delivered.

Hankook Tire Plant Expansion — Clarksville, TN

1.4M sq ft plant expansion — 2.1 million yards moved, on schedule through three winters, with self-performed utilities and stabilization.

View project →

Freight Terminal Expansion — Fenton, MO

Complete site package for a freight terminal building addition in Fenton: a structural-fill pad, more than 2,400 LF of storm sewer, two underground detention systems and a new water main.

View project →

Data Center Site Development — St. Louis County, MO

Full site development for a data center campus: mass grading, more than 3,600 LF of storm with three bio-retention ponds, 30" PE sanitary sewer and an 8" C900 water main.

View project →

Multi-Building Residential Development — Troy, MO

Site development for a multi-building residential community in Troy: mass grading, more than 2,500 LF of storm sewer, a sanitary system with eight manholes and about 1,500 LF of water main.

View project →
Where we work

Excavation across the region.

Related Resources

Read before you build.

All resources →
GuideWhat Drives Site Development Cost in St. LouisThe conditions and decisions that move a sitework budget, and when you can still change them.Read GuideBalancing Cut and Fill to Cut Export CostsHow pad elevations, grading and stabilization change how much dirt leaves or arrives on trucks.Read GuideWhy Bring Your Site Contractor In EarlyWhat a site contractor adds during design: value engineering, budget certainty, schedule and alternates.Read
Related reading
What's Included

Capabilities under this service line

  • Mass cut & fill
  • Site grading & building pad prep
  • Roadway & parking lot subgrade
  • GPS machine control
  • Site balancing & haul routing
  • Rock excavation
On the Job

Earthwork & Site Grading in action

Mass earthmoving operation with articulated trucks and dozers
Scraper pans pulled by track tractors cutting a building pad at golden hour
Tractors and scrapers on a mass grading job
Precision site grading with dozer and excavator working in tandem
Excavator loading an articulated haul truck on a commercial site
Aerial view of clearing and grading for a new development
Why Kuesel

Three reasons
not the other guys.

Talk to Preconstruction
  • 01GPS machine control on every dozer and motor grader
  • 02Hit pad elevation the first time — proof-rolled and surveyed
  • 03Owned articulated truck fleet for site balancing without rental delays
Since 1963
Self-performing
OE · Laborers · Teamsters
Union signatory
6 self-perform
Service lines under one roof
St. Louis & Surrounding Areas
Licensed
300+ pieces
Late-model fleet
1 business day
Bid response
Who We Build This For

Earthwork & Site Grading for the owners and GCs that hire Kuesel

See how this scope plugs into the verticals we serve across St. Louis, Missouri, and Illinois:

Browse the full Who We Serve page for every market Kuesel partners with.

Cities we serve

Earthwork & Site Grading by city

See every city on the service area page.

Other capabilities

Preconstruction ServicesIndustrial & Mission Critical SiteworkWater & Sewer InfrastructureSoil StabilizationHydrovac & Specialty ServicesSite DemolitionFull-Depth Reclamation (FDR)
Call (636) 978-3478