Assessing Ohio’s Approach to Clearing Utilities on Highway Projects Process Improvements

Project Details
STATUS

In-Progress

START DATE

10/01/24

END DATE

06/30/25

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, CMAT
SPONSORS

Ohio Department of Transportation

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Roy Sturgill

Construction Engineer, CMAT

About the research

Over the last decade, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has incurred over $30M in construction-related delays in addition to extended traveling time to the public and potential delays to other projects. One leading cause of construction delays is the untimely relocation of utility infrastructure as well as other utility conflicts, including unmarked or mis-marked utility locations. The current utility relocation process relies on leveraging communication and good working relationships between ODOT and utility company staff, with no practical enforcement tools within the law. Research is needed to determine the most cost-effective, practical, and safest way to initiate and execute utility coordination. The goal of this project is to identify processes, procedures, and/or statutory changes that could decrease the risks of utility-related construction delay occurrences.

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