Strategies to Address Utility Challenges in Project Development Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Streamlined project delivery is one of the main goals of transportation agencies nationwide to achieve a more efficient and more effective transportation system. Many factors can cause delays while transportation projects are being developed and constructed. A critical factor contributing to inefficiencies is the lack of adequate information about utility facilities that may be affected by a transportation project. This lack results in problems such as unplanned environmental corrective actions and unanticipated utility relocation activities during construction. These unplanned activities cause frequent delays during construction, can increase the impact of construction on motorists and society, and may exacerbate the cost of the project. This paper summarizes the results of research conducted to evaluate the feasibility of (a) obtaining more-reliable existing utility data during preliminary design and coordinating this activity with the environmental process and (b) increasing the level of definition of components during preliminary design without affecting environmental requirements so as to support the earlier application of utility processes. The analysis resulted in 10 optimization strategies that addressed a variety of environmental and utility issues. The researchers also developed a highly detailed business process diagram that integrated environmental and utility functions, with a specific emphasis on the preliminary design phase. To facilitate access to model information, the researchers developed a web-based tool called TxDOT Business Process Explorer, which can be accessed remotely or at a local or networked computer drive.

published proceedings

  • TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD

author list (cited authors)

  • Quiroga, C., Kraus, E., & Overman, J.

citation count

  • 3

complete list of authors

  • Quiroga, Cesar||Kraus, Edgar||Overman, John

publication date

  • January 2011