Applying
Subsurface Utility Engineering
to
Highway and Road Projects
Existing Underground Utilities are the
Veins and Arteries of our
Cities and Roads
And yet, we know very little
about where they are
Communication
Gas / Propane
Petroleum
Sewerage
Drainage
Power
Steam
Water
WHY?
We keep adding and changing utilities
Expansion
Modernization We don’t keep good records
Changing Utility Referenced to
Technology changed topo
Changing Facility features
Missions No centralized
records storage
No standard format
No responsibility
Where do we get Utility Info?
Old Project Plans (As-Designed)
Old Project Plans (Red-Lined)
Utility Records (As-Designed)
Utility Records (As-Built)
Maintenance
Records
Repair Records
Visual Observation
Field Survey
The Engineer uses these
sources to compile a utility
composite that overlays the new
design
Nowadays, we frequently
digitize this data into a
CADD or GIS System…
This can result in even more errors
The Engineer ends up
with utility data of
unknown reliability
I think the gas line is here, but
I’m not really sure. It might be in
conflict with this proposed piling.
This makes it
extremely difficult
to manage the I guess we’ll let the
risks that are contractor worry
created by existing about that !
underground
utilities
What are these Risks?
Utility Damages
Affecting the Safety
of
Construction crews,
or the Public
The Telecommunications
and other industries
recognize this
There are a lot of other risks too
Redesign costs
Project delays
Higher construction
bids Detours
$$
Change orders
Extra work orders
Construction Claims
Higher insurance
TIME costs
Higher financing
costs
Intangibles Bad publicity
Fortunately, there’s a way
to handle this risk
SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING
S.U.E. Combines Traditional
Engineering Practices, such as …..
Utility Records Research Relocation Cost Estimates
Utility Design/Relocation Design Plotting of Utilities from Records
with New Technologies
Utility Designating
via
Surface Geophysical
Methods
Utility Locating
Via Non-Destructive
Vacuum Exposure
The Most Significant Advancement
is the
Utility Quality Level Attribute
Quality Level Attributes are attached to plotted utilities
They indicate how utility data was developed
Reliability and Accountability
are defined
“Quality Level D”
The least reliable utility data
Plotted on plans from records.
Sometimes a field visit - to look for
utility indications on the site - is
This level of effort made.
is great for Project
Planning purposes, Sometimes “verbal recollections”
utility “inventories,” are plotted.
and very preliminary
utility relocation cost
estimates
“Quality Level C”
The “traditional” utility depiction
Surface Appurtenances are
surveyed and accurately plotted on
a current site plan
Problems with records Utility data from records (QL D) are
interpretations still correlated to the appurtenances
exist: e.g. schematics,
no appurtenances
depicted, utilities not
straight between
appurtenances, no
records exist, and so on.
“Quality Level B”
A significant upgrade in quality
Surface Geophysical Methods
used to search for and trace
existing utilities.
Non-recorded utilities Designated utilities are then
found. Utilities’ routes surveyed and plotted on site plan.
between appurtenances
are imaged.
Typically used in early
preliminary design for
construction footprint
decisions.
“Quality Level A”
A guarantee in 3-D
Utilities exposed via non-
destructive air-vacuum means
Exposed utilities are then surveyed
Typically used in final and plotted on site plan
design stages. Allows Elevations, Size, Condition,
small adjustments in
design for big savings in Materials, Precise Horizontal
construction Positions are measured and
documented
QL A and QL B upgrades
have been successful in
reducing risk on tens of
thousands of highway
and road projects.
Used extensively by
Eastern State DOTs
Municipalities This is a tried
and true
process
SUE has an Outstanding Record
Under recent contracts with various departments of transportation including the
Texas DOT,
New Jersey DOT,
North Carolina DOT,
Virginia DOT,
Pennsylvania DOT,
Delaware DOT,
Ohio DOT,
Georgia DOT,
Florida DOT,
Arizona DOT,
and the Maryland State Highway Administration,
This represents tens of thousands of separate projects, some of which
involved
over 200,000 feet of utilities (Quality Level B)
and 850 test holes (Quality Level A).
Yet, SUE has not been used as a
professional standard practice in some
areas for many reasons.
No concerted local or regional effort to
educate project owners or engineers of
benefits
Lack of interest by state DOTs
Development of SUE has been primarily
on the east coast
Few national providers
Combined construction values in some
areas lower than in others
Lack of a well defined standard of care
created little incentive for changing the
status-quo
These
Impediments to
SUE are rapidly
disappearing
There are now national standards under
development
American Society of Civil Engineer /
American National Standards Institute’s
National Standard Activity
This will
redefine the
Standard Guidelines for the
standard of care Collection and Depiction of
for utility Existing Subsurface Utility Data
mapping by the
engineering
profession
With an anticipated publish
date of December 2001
A January 2000 FHWA / Purdue University
study (Publication No. FHWA-IF-00-014)
states the following:
“A savings of $4.62 for every $1.00
spent on SUE was quantified from a
total of 71 projects. These projects
had a combined construction value
in excess of $1 billion. The costs of
obtaining Quality Level “B” (QL B)
and Quality Level “A” (QL A) data
on these 71 projects were less than
0.5 percent of the total construction
costs, and it resulted in a
construction savings of 1.9 percent
over traditional Quality Level C
(QL C) and/or Quality Level D (QL
D) data.” .62 for every $1.00 spent on SUE
One individual project had a $206.00 to
$1.00 return on investment (North Carolina
DOT).
Only 3 of 71 projects had a negative return
on investment.
The simple conclusion of this study is that
SUE is a viable technologic practice that
reduces project costs related to the risks
associated with existing subsurface utilities
and, when used in a systematic manner,
will result in significant quantifiable and
qualitative benefits.
And there’s more!
SUE is recognized as
a
BEST PRACTICE
by
AASHTO
Federal Highway Administration
Associated General Contractors
Office of Pipeline Safety
National Transportation Safety Board
Network Reliability Council
Many state DOTs
SUE offers a One-
Stop Shop for all
of a projects’
utility needs
A SUE Provider has the Diverse Experienced Staff
necessary for these services
Highway Designers Field SUE Specialists
Utility Design Experts Field SUE Technicians
Utility Accommodation Policy Experts Survey Party Chiefs
Records Researchers Professional Engineers
CADD Technicians Professional Surveyors
Utility Engineers Professional Geologists
Equipment Repair Techs
Air/Vacuum Fabrication
Vehicle Maintenance
Subsurface Utility Engineering offers tremendous value
for your projects, too
With a mix of
field and office
activities
Field survey of utility appurtenances, designating, and locating data
Utility designating via surface geophysical techniques
Utility locating via non-destructive vacuum exposure
Utility mapping using quality level attributes
Utility Conflict avoidance advice and design
Utility design and relocation design
Utility relocation coordination
Relocation cost estimates
Utility records research
Utility easement plats
Slide show and pictures courtesy of So-Deep, Inc.
