Concrete Leveling in Lockwood, Montana
More ground has been opened up and put back in Lockwood over the last decade than anywhere else we work. That is the first thing we think about when a slab here drops.
The local pattern
Septic to sewer, one phase at a time
The Lockwood Water & Sewer District formed on a 71 percent vote in 1996 and has been converting the area from septic to sewer in phases ever since. A Phase I bond passed in 2008 with 61 percent support. Phase II was completed on September 1, 2016 at roughly $10 million. Phase III construction began on December 10, 2025 and is expected to be complete in early 2028. Wastewater is treated under agreement with the City of Billings, and the district office is at 1644 Old Hardin Rd, (406) 259-4120.
Here is the part that matters for concrete. Connecting a house to a new main means trenching — across the yard, often across the driveway, sometimes under an approach. Backfill in a trench is never as dense as the undisturbed ground beside it, and it keeps consolidating for years after the surface looks finished. That alone can drop a slab in a narrow strip.
The second effect is drainage. A trench is a looser, more permeable path through tighter soil, so surface water finds it and travels along it. On the dispersive clays in this valley, moving water does not just wet the soil, it carries it, and what is left behind is a void. A settlement line that runs arrow-straight across a driveway is the signature to look for.
None of that is a complaint about how the work was done. Trench consolidation is physics, it happens on every utility project everywhere, and it is a known pattern rather than a fault. It just means that in Lockwood specifically, the first question we ask is where the lateral runs.
The Bypass, for context
The Billings Bypass begins at the Johnson Lane Interchange on I-90 in Lockwood and crosses the Yellowstone River. The Five Mile Road, Yellowstone River Bridge and Railroad Overpass segments are open. Johnson Lane Interchange construction is scheduled to begin in fall or winter of 2026 and continue through 2028. It is roadway work rather than a cause of residential settlement, but it is worth knowing about if your approach ties into a road segment that is about to change.
Unincorporated means county
Lockwood is a census-designated place and the largest unincorporated community in Montana. There is no city hall to permit through, so Yellowstone County Public Works is the authority.
- Approach permit$75.00 residential, maximum 30 feet of width; $150.00 commercial. Card payments add 2.5 percent.
- CulvertPipe minimum is 15 inches where an approach crosses a ditch.
- Who to callYellowstone County Public Works, (406) 256-2735.
- No state residential permitMontana requires no state building permit for a single-family residence unless a local jurisdiction requires one by ordinance.
Who lives here
Lockwood counted 7,195 residents in 2020 across 2,676 households on 12.855 square miles at 3,127 feet, making it the second-largest community in the Billings metro area. Owner-occupancy is high at 75.8 percent, with a median owner-occupied value of $235,400. The population grew roughly 58 percent between 2000 and 2010, which means a large share of the housing stock and its flatwork went in during a single stretch — and is now reaching the age where original grading and irrigation habits start to show.
Nearby jurisdictions
- Concrete leveling in Billings
City ordinance and right-of-way permits
- Concrete leveling in Laurel
Separate incorporated city, own public works
- Concrete leveling in Shepherd
Unincorporated — county and floodplain
Questions about this work
- Did the sewer project cause my driveway to settle?
- Not necessarily, and we will not tell you it did without looking. What is true is that any trench across a yard or drive is disturbed ground, and disturbed ground consolidates for years no matter how well it was compacted. If your settlement runs in a straight line that matches a service lateral, that pattern is worth checking before anything else.
- Where is the sewer conversion right now?
- Phase II wrapped up on September 1, 2016 at roughly $10 million. Phase III construction began December 10, 2025 and is expected to finish in early 2028. The Lockwood Water and Sewer District office is at 1644 Old Hardin Rd, (406) 259-4120, and wastewater is treated under agreement with the City of Billings.
- Who issues permits in Lockwood?
- Yellowstone County, because Lockwood is unincorporated. The county approach permit is $75.00 residential for a maximum 30-foot width and $150.00 commercial, culvert pipe has a 15-inch minimum, and card payments add 2.5 percent. County Public Works is at (406) 256-2735.
- Should I wait for the Bypass work to finish before leveling?
- There is no reason to. Johnson Lane Interchange construction is scheduled to start in fall or winter of 2026 and run through 2028, but that is roadway work in the right-of-way, not something that moves a residential slab several lots away. Fix the slab when the water source is under control.