Subsurface Utility Engineering Services Help Mitigate Construction Risk
By Juliana Poquette
It would be a tall task to determine how many building projects are underway across the United States at any given time . No area of the country , it seems , is off limits when it comes to the expansion of the built environment .
Accompanying that expansion is the need for ongoing upgrades to underground utilities , sometimes alongside or on top of older utility conduits , creating a complex , out-ofsight web of water , sewer , gas , electrical , and telecommunications lines . Any disturbance to a utility line during a construction project can result in inconvenient delays at the least and human and environmental tragedy at the worst — and all at great cost .
Fortunately , to mitigate conflicts between project design and underground utilities , subsurface utility engineering ( SUE ) has emerged and evolved as a nationwide practice over the past three decades . Recently updated national SUE standards by the American Society of Civil Engineers ( ASCE ), as well as a law passed in Colorado that mandates SUE services on many public construction projects , indicate the continued advancement of SUE as a highly valued best practice for many civil engineering projects .
Ayres has provided SUE services to clients for more than 25 years , helping projects stay on budget and on schedule as well as protecting the safety of workers and the public . The expertise of Ayres SUE professionals has contributed to safety and cost savings on projects in states across the country , including Colorado , Florida , Iowa , Minnesota , Wisconsin , and Wyoming .
Navigating the underground utilities web : A SUE overview The ASCE , in its newly updated Standard Guideline for Investigating and Documenting Existing Utilities , defines SUE as “ a professional effort and best practice for performing and documenting the results of Utility Investigations . Subsurface Utility Engineers acquire , process , characterize , assess quality , and present utility information for Project Development . This iterative documentation facilitates effective management of the risks associated with Project Development and construction that may affect , or be affected by , existing utilities .” www . AyresAssociates . com 3