Staff Responsibility: Monica Starnes

Issues related to utilities are among the major causes of construction delays in highway construction projects. Because of the frequency with which utilities occupy existing highway rights-of-way, highway renewal projects are prone to setbacks related to mismanaged relocation of existing utilities. Lack of accurate information on the location of underground or overhead utility assets, inadequate estimation of the time and budget needed to conduct utility relocation activities, and insufficient coordination and cooperation between transportation agencies and utility companies are among key factors that contribute to construction delays. The demand for accelerated project delivery while minimizing the impact to the traveling public further highlights the need for adequate coordination and cooperation between highway agencies and utilities for many highway renewal projects.

The objective of this project was to investigate how to improve coordination between utility companies and transportation agencies to reduce the negative impacts to both and to the public.

The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase of the project focused on data gathering to identify existing institutional issues and processes that contribute to delays in planning, designing, and constructing highway renewal projects, as well as identifying proven innovative practices, policies, and procedures to mitigate these delays. As part of the data- gathering activities the research team conducted a series of surveys and interviews, in addition to a detailed survey of printed and electronic literature.

The second phase of the project focused on data analysis and development of recommendations. Analysis of the literature, surveys, and interviews yielded a list of the most common coordination problems between transportation agencies and utility companies and examples of best practices from the interviews. To enhance the analysis activities, the research team also established an internal advisory panel of nine DOT members and eight utility company members. The team’s findings and developed strategies for improving coordination between public agencies and utility companies were shared with this internal advisory panel in order to refine the recommended best practices and strategies. Based on the results, the research team developed a tool box of best practices and a set of recommendations for future research projects that could relieve the institutional barriers for effective utility relocation activities.

Status: The project is complete. The final report has been published as SHRP 2 Report S2-R15-RW. The report documents current practices, opportunities for improvement, and anticipated barriers for integrating utility and transportation agency priorities in highway renewal projects. Thirteen best practices that span the whole project life cycle are also documented in a tool box format. Finally, the report provides a plan for future research in this field.

Product Availability: S2-R15-RW: Integrating the Priorities of Transportation Agencies and Utility Companies. The report is available as an Adobe PDF document.