Let ’ s Make Our Voice Heard : What Risk Factors Influence
Your Projects During Highway Utility Construction ?
Please complete the survey by Sunday , October 31 , 2021 !
NUCA is looking to the experts in utility construction — NUCA members — to help fill in a knowledge gap on properly managing utility conflict impacts during construction in a highway right-of-way .
The Texas A & M Transportation Initiative ( TTI ) reached out to NUCA for assistance with a nationwide survey they are conducting as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program ( NCHRP ) Project 15-69 . This project is sponsored by the Transportation Research Board ( TRB ), a member of the federal National Academies of Sciences , Engineering , and Medicine .
OUT MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM
A few professional reports point to causes of utility construction issues during construction , but very few examine utility issues thoroughly or document successful strategies to address those issues .
This national project , supported by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ( AASHTO ), is seeking to identify the risk factors affecting the utility construction phase of highway project deliveries . The survey will also be used to identify potential case studies that apply innovative practices in construction .
We hope NUCA members who have faced delays , issues , or disputes in their phase of highway construction work would share via this survey how they managed the conflicts . NUCA ’ s Damage Prevention Committee believes that our industry ’ s participation in this survey would help transportation experts find solutions to common impacts or unique incidents .
We ’ re the experts in the utility construction field , so they are looking to us for guidance .
Some members may emphasize the use of Subsurface Utility Engineering ( SUE ) techniques in the design phase , others may want to emphasize particular procedures that worked for their own projects , and others may find a unique regional solution that overcame these conflicts . Or some may offer something completely different that the experts have not considered .
18 DITCHMEN • OCTOBER 2021