SPR 13-460 Methods to Expedite Utility Relocations

The co-location of utilities within and near road and highway right-of-ways presents challenges to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure. Utility work associated with highway construction presents many challenges to KYTC but the largest overall issue is that, despite KYTC funding the work, in most instances KYTC cannot directly manage utility relocations. Relocations are typically performed under the direct supervision of the utility owner/operator. Ideally, utility relocations would be completed prior to the bid letting for a project. However, due to dynamic and potentially conflicting priorities of the utility owner/operator and complexities associated with the coordination of multiple utilities, KYTC projects may experience negative project performance impacts or delayed project start dates due to unfinished utility relocations. Developing a method to improve the efficiency of utility relocations would help to mitigate the negative impact of utility relocations on KYTC projects. 1) Describe and map the current Cabinet processes for planning and executing utility relocations in support of KYTC highway construction, 2) Identify successful utility relocation management practices and processes at other state transportation agencies and with other construction owners, 3) Design modifications to the current Cabinet processes for planning and executing utility relocations to improve the efficiency of the process, and 4) Prepare an implementation guide to assist the Cabinet in adopting the new process and any associated technologies.