Utility Coordination Project Experience
State Spur 601 (Inner Loop), El Paso, Texas
Right-of-Way Surveying and Mapping, Design Surveying, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), and Utility Coordination Services
Computer Science Corporation
Quality Level B SUE Services / Utility Coordination
IH 37 Mathis, TX
Utility Coordination
State Highway 45 Southeast
Utility Coordination
State Spur 601 (Inner Loop), El Paso, Texas
Right-of-Way Surveying and Mapping, Design Surveying, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), and Utility Coordination Services
Owner: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
Client: URS Corporation under contract to JD Abrams, L.P. in a Pass-Through Toll Agreement with TxDOT (the Abrams Team)
Spur 601 Inner Loop Project is a proposed 7.4 mile 6-lane controlled access, elevated highway from US 54 to Loop 375. The project involves widening an existing 1.6 mile section of Fred Wilson Avenue from US 54 to the junction of Fred Wilson with Airport Road and Sergeant Major Road. It then continues east on a new location route through Ft. Bliss Military Reservation to an interchange with Loop 375. A section of the project will be adjacent to the El Paso International Airport north property line. The project also involves several new roadway improvements within the base and the airport property. This $380 million facility is a Pass-Through Toll Agreement between JD Abrams and the Texas Department of Transportation, and is scheduled to be completed by January 2010.
SAM, Inc. provided all right-of-way (ROW) surveying and mapping services, design surveying, subsurface utility engineering (SUE) services, and the Utility Coordination services for the project. Prior to working with the Abrams Team, the firm had previously provided services in connection with the project under contract with the El Paso District of TxDOT. A portion of the work completed for TxDOT included providing specialized aerial mapping services to produce a high-accuracy mapping product (0.4 foot interval DTM) along Fred Wilson Avenue from US 54 to just east of Chaffe Road in Ft. Bliss. The aerial mapping products included a 1-mile section of US 54 (1/2-mile each direction from Fred Wilson). This aerial mapping was provided in order to obtain high-accuracy survey data along the pavement of Fred Wilson and US 54 without having to endanger field personal by placing them within the travel lanes of the road to obtain survey data.
There is approximately 350,000 LF of overhead and underground utilities within the 7.4 mile project owned and operated by seventeen utility companies. The project utilities consist of water transmission and distribution pipelines, municipal water wells, natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, petroleum pipelines, overhead electric transmission and distribution lines, both underground and overhead fiber optic communication lines, wastewater gravity lines, sanitary sewer force mains, FAA flight control lines & weather recording lines, Ft. Bliss High Security Communication lines, and TxDOT intelligent traffic control management (ITMS) systems. SAM, Inc. provided the SUE services to map these utilities and the Utility Coordination services to obtain agreements and manage the relocation or protection-in-place of these utilities. The SUE services comprised Quality Levels D-A SUE services, including research of the utility records, location of visible surface utility features, designation of the actual location of underground facilities, and test holes to obtain exact location and elevation of the utilities at locations critical to proposed construction.
The utility adjustment cost was estimated at $25 million, which included utility design, coordination, and construction costs. The Utility Coordination efforts and value engineering resulted in a savings of approximately $9 million for a reduced revised utility adjustment budget of $16 million. These utility adjustments are being managed by the Project Developer (JD Abrams, LP) in 168 Utility Assemblies, Amendments, and Abbreviated Assemblies developed by SAM, Inc.
Computer Science Corporation
Quality Level B SUE Services / Utility Coordination
This 11 City block area of downtown Austin, Texas, required new primary electrical duct banks to service the CSC complex. Existing utilities were identified, located, and mapped within these streets and provided to the project designer. The information collected was used in the design phase of the project for alleviating new improvement conflicts with existing utility systems and for ensuring continuous construction operations of the new improvements.
The utility coordination consisted of surveying, mapping and contacting all utility companies in the downtown area for the purpose of abandoning and/or relocating existing utilities. SAM, Inc. coordinated all utility permit requests for the City of Austin for the construction of new utilities for the downtown area. SAM, Inc. coordinated and allocated specific utility assignments to utility companies through the permitting process and provided proposed construction plan approvals for compliance for permitting of all utilities.
IH 37 Mathis, TX
Utility Coordination
Managed the utility coordination and design for approximately 7 utility conflicts consisting of petroleum, water and overhead/underground communication facilities impacted by the construction of new access road paralleling the south-bound lanes of IH 37.
State Highway 45 Southeast
Utility Coordination
This project consisted of improving FM 1325 to expressway toll lanes from IH 35 to US 183 in south Austin, Texas . Over 98,300 linear feet of existing underground utilities were identified, located, and mapped within the project limits including the connections at IH 35 and US 183 for multi-level bridge configurations. These utilities consisted of underground water, wastewater, storm drainage, telecommunication, fiber optic, cable, TV, gas, and electrical systems. Identification of overhead utilities (i.e., electric, telecommunications, and cable TV) systems was also provided.
This information was used by the design team to identify potential utility conflicts with new improvements, prepared construction cost projections for relocating utilities in conflict and to ensure continuous construction operations for the project.
