A case study of utility coordination within a major design-build transportation project

The co-location of utilities within transportation right-of-ways presents challenges to state transportation agencies (STAs) in coordinating with those facilities to accommodate improvements to the highway system. These sometimes complex challenges are managed through the practice of utility coordination. There are many resources available discussing the effective practices of utility coordination but they are catered to traditional (design-bid-build) project delivery. Through a case study of the utility coordination on the Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio Rivers Bridges project, this paper shares the perspective of two states (Kentucky and Indiana) conducting utility coordination on two subprojects. The Kentucky subproject was delivered through design-build while the Indiana project was delivered as a public private partnership. While these projects were somewhat distinct they were managed within one major urban project according to federal highway administration terminology. This case study presents that utility coordination is heavily impacted by contracting method and shows that best practices are not universally applicable across varying contract delivery mechanisms. In other words, there is a difference perceived in utility coordination on a design-bid-build project versus a design-build project.