01474069

Component

Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) is a useful tool for collecting accurate utility information that can be used to improve transportation project performance. Recently, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) initiated a research project to review the state-of-the-practice in utility investigations and develop best practices for timing and use of utility investigation services in the TxDOT project development process. As part of the project, the research team conducted a thorough evaluation of the potential benefits of SUE services (focusing on Quality Level A and B) in transportation projects. During the evaluation, the research team identified 32 projects that used SUE services, which represented a variety of project classes and geographic locations. The researchers then took a significant effort to mine existing TxDOT data sources and collected a wide range of project data from a number of data systems. Based on several measures of effectiveness and using t-test statistics, the study compared SUE projects against a large group of control projects. The results suggested that SUE services tended to be used for large projects with significant design efforts and complicated utility conditions. When comparing on a per-lane-mile basis, projects with SUE had lower design costs and man-hours, fewer construction delays, and fewer utility-related change orders. The findings provide insights as to when and how SUE services were used in transportation projects, and how SUE services might have improved project performance. The study also provided recommendations that can potentially improve SUE-related data management at state transportation agencies.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFB70 Utilities.

01470560

13-3735

English

17p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Benefit cost analysis; Data quality; Highway design; Performance measurement; Underground utility lines

Subsurface Utility Engineering

Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; I70: Traffic and Transport

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-3735

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:44PM