Host Kathryn Fenstermaker sits down with veteran surveyor Lolly Brasseaux to unpack the complexity of pipeline infrastructure. Brasseaux, Fenstermaker’s senior project manager and associate director of surveys, reflects on more than four decades of experience performing pipeline, hydrographic and boundary surveys across the Gulf Coast and beyond. He explains how surveyors are on the front end of pipeline projects—helping clients chart optimal routes, identify landowners and foresee constructability issues. Brasseaux discusses regional differences in routing pipelines, from navigating mud and clay in the Atchafalaya Basin to blasting rock in West Texas and mountains in the Northeast. He emphasises the importance of understanding property rights, working with sophisticated landowners and attorneys, and maintaining strong relationships with project managers and contractors. The conversation also touches on embracing new technology, from laser scanning to GPS, and how adaptability and communication drive success in pipeline work.