Our Professionals Manage the Complexity of Coordinating Utilities
Utility relocations, whether you plan for them or not, present the greatest potential for schedule delays on infrastructure projects. One of the primary goals of utility coordination is to minimize the need for relocations through early identification and communication with the project design team, reducing claims and expensive delays during construction. Engaging T2ue’s Utility Coordinators helps ensure a well-managed approach to identifying and resolving the myriad of utility systems within a project footprint so construction can progress smoothly.
T2 Utility Engineers' Utility Coordination team has the holistic knowledge to successfully guide you through the complex utility conflict resolution process. Our experienced Utility Coordinators have backgrounds in utility design standards, roadway construction management, and agency processes. We work with utility owners and agencies every day and understand the requirements and procedures. Combined with specialized communication skills and processes to navigate the detailed phases of utility coordination, our team allows your staff to focus on other project priorities.
What is the benefit of Utility Coordination?
Conflict Analysis, Solutions and Resolution
Utility Coordination allows for the early identification of utility conflicts using record information such as permit logs and utility records. An experienced team, like T2ue, will identify the potential for utility conflicts and work with the stakeholders to determine the most advantageous method to resolve the conflicts. Sometimes there is need for further investigation such as Subsurface Utility Engineering or surveying to have the information required to develop a comprehensive plan and strategies to reduce the number of utility unknowns during construction. We provide a full range of Utility Coordination services to help ensure the constructability of your projects.
Services include:
- Identify utilities within the project area
- Analyze and resolve utilities that conflict with the design
- Coordinate with utility owners and stakeholders to develop recommendations
- Recommend project design modifications
- Assist with utility relocation cost estimates
- Prepare utility agreements
- Establish and manage utility relocation schedules
- Contribute to improved ease of constructability
- Coordinate necessary utility relocations
- Create reports for stakeholders’ use and reference
Our Collaborative Approach and Experience Benefits the Project
The T2ue Utility Coordination team proactively identifies and mitigates as many utility conflicts as possible, working closely with the diverse range of stakeholders at each stage of the project. It takes diplomacy, skillful communication and negotiating skills, blended with technical knowledge to get utility owners and project owners to collaboratively address the tasks required for successful resolution and project delivery.
Our team at T2ue is skilled at managing collaboration. We understand the importance of communicating and our role engaging all stakeholders to identify the best resolution scenario, and equally important, we are fun and easy to work with. This is one of the reasons that we are frequently asked to be part of Design-Build project teams. Our ability to generate successful outcomes is shown by our high number of repeat clients who consistently come back to our Utility Coordination teams to help them resolve and manage their project’s utility issues.
Federal Highway Agency Supports Utility Coordination and Subsurface Utility Engineering
In June of 2016 the US DOT Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted a national 50 state review of utility coordination processes to assess the risk posed to projects, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Utility Review: Utility Coordination Process (FHWA0HIF-18-039). The FHWA review team concluded that “projects can be built faster, better, safer, and for less money by implementing the recommendations in the report.” The executive summary starts with the statement that “utility relocations have been cited for the past two decades and possibly longer as the leading cause of highway project construction cost-and-time overruns.” One of the key conclusions from that study showed that “gaps in information are often tied to underground utilities where Subsurface Utility Engineering is lacking, resulting in utility conflicts either being misidentified or not identified at all during the preconstruction phase.” The lack of states having a robust Utility Coordination program posed serious risks to successful project delivery. The executive summary goes on to outline “Successful Practices”, which would also apply to any type of infrastructure project, including:
- Implement the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) Utility Conflict Management practice
- Implement a risk-based Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) process
- Relocate utilities before the start of highway construction
- Include utility relocation work in the highway contract
T2 Utility Engineers is uniquely positioned to assist with all of the services that FWHA recommends. In fact, T2ue was asked to be part of the SHRP1 and SHRP2 research. We know Utility Coordination and Subsurface Utility Engineering. Contact us to talk about how UC can help make your project more efficient.
Where We Work – Experience Makes the Difference
T2 Utility Engineers has the experience to handle projects of any size and complexity in the US and Canada. Since 1993, we have supported all types of projects including transportation and water/wastewater projects. We are proud to have been selected by state DOT's, municipalities and engineering consultants to address the utility issues on these projects. Whether your project is traditional design bid build delivery or alternate delivery such as a design-build, P3, Progressive Design-Build, or CMAR, our knowledge and experience in utility coordination and resolving conflicts enhances our ability to recommend the appropriate scope and schedule of the investigative effort.