Improvement Projects

Today, we are in a period of our nation's history that has a drastic need for an upgrade, expansion, and rehabilitation of our roadways and infrastructures. In order to undertake the necessary tasks so these are sustainable for future generations, project coordination utilizing new technology, along with tried and true practices of working together, often in limited rights-of-way (ROW), must be undertaken.

As part of the preservation and sustainability of underground space in the ROW, there is a need for developing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge of where utility lines are located and protecting or methodically relocating them for proposed maintenance and improvements. Some states in the USA and many more internationally have experimented with consortium mapping concepts that involve developing repositories for all utility data within a defined geographic region.

This program will discuss coordinating utilities using current methods as well as new research under way to develop new technologies to leverage recent advancements in data management and visualization, and communication. An overview of the technologies will be presented along with a discussion of the administrative, security and financial considerations that may result from their use. The presentation will address both project design and excavation damage prevention perspectives.

While the element of sustainability must be addressed in design stage work, it is critical that it is considered for already existing utilities in ROW.

This program will:

• Introduce the participants to the concept of Utility Coordination during project design;
• Describe the process of Utility Coordination during project design; and,
• Enumerate the benefits of using and pitfalls of not using, Utility Coordination during project design.
• Introduce the participants to new technologies being developed to enhance Utility Coordination.
  
  After viewing this program, participants will be better able to:


• Illustrate the benefits of utility coordination
• Evaluate the advantages of utilizing new technology
• Establish best practices for improved project planning