U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
 |
| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-019 Date: July 2018 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-019 Date: July 2018 |
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The Federal Highway Administration conducted research from 2012 to 2015 to document issues associated with State transportation departments asserting their responsibility to manage utility installations within the highway right-of-way. The research focused on the use of three-dimensional (3D) techniques by State transportation departments. The research addressed the following topics: (1) feasibility of State transportation departments as the central repository of utility data within the State highway right-of-way; (2) benefits of having reliable, accurate utility data available during project delivery; (3) barriers for collecting and managing utility location data as well as strategies to overcome those barriers; and (4) cost to manage 3D utility location data and mark utilities with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
The analysis concluded that developing and maintaining reliable inventories of utility facilities within the State highway right-of-way is feasible and provides significant benefits. The research outlined 10implementable strategies to achieve this goal along with 6 strategies that need development work. The return on investment (ROI) for preparing 3D inventories of utilities could be of the same order of magnitude as the ROI for conventional utility investigations. The application of RFID technology to mark utility installations at the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is unique among State transportation departments. VDOT started its RFID program as a damage prevention strategy to protect relocated utility installations during highway construction. The average cost of installing RFID markers at VDOT is $0.65/ft of utility line, assuming RFID markers every 25 ft.
The audience for this report includes State transportation departments, utility owners, one-call notification centers, consultants, and contractors.
Cheryl Allen Richter, Ph.D., P.E.
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
Quality Assurance Statement
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-16-019 |
2. Government Accession No.
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3 Recipient's Catalog No.
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| 4. Title and Subtitle
Feasibility of Mapping and Marking Underground Utilities by State Transportation Departments |
5. Report Date
July 2018 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code
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| 7. Author(s)
Cesar Quiroga, Ph.D., P.E.; James Anspach, P.G.; Paul Scott, P.E.; and Edgar Kraus, P.E. |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
601161-01 |
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| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Texas A&M Transportation Institute |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
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| 11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-12-C-00025 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Research and Technology Services |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Technical Report; October 2012–April 2015 |
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| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
HRTS-01 |
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| 15. Supplementary Notes
The Contracting Officer’s Representative was Richard B. Duval (HRDI-20). |
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| 16. Abstract
A critical factor that contributes to inefficiencies in the management of utility issues in highway projects is the lack of accurate, complete information about utility facilities that might be in conflict with the project. Barriers that transportation agencies must overcome before collecting and storing utility location data include, but are not limited to, liability in connection with data accuracy, visualization of data reliability and accuracy, long-term storage and maintenance of the electronic data, access to the data, and homeland security issues. The objective of the research was to document issues associated with State transportation departments asserting their responsibility for managing utility installations within the highway right-of-way. The research focused on the use of three-dimensional (3D) techniques by State transportation departments. Activities completed to meet this objective included the following: (1) a literature review on the use of 3D technology; (2) outreach to State transportation departments to document business practices and lessons learned from a review of selected case studies; (3) an analysis of strategies, barriers for implementation, and return on investment; and (4) a review of the use of radio frequency identification technology to mark and manage underground utility installations, along with a discussion of benefits and costs. The audience for this report includes State transportation departments, utility owners, one-call notification centers, consultants, and contractors. |
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| 17. Key Words
3D modeling, Utility investigations, Utility relocations, RFID, Return on investment, ROI |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22312. |
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| 19. Security Classification (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classification (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages
195 |
22. Price
N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
