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Cost Savings on Highway Projects Utilizing Subsurface Utility Engineering.

PB2000103837

Publication Date	2000
Personal Author	Lew, J. J.
Page Count	218
Abstract	The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been promoting the use of subsurface utility engineering (SUE) since 1987 as a means to save costs on highway construction projects. In 1996, the FHWA commissioned Purdue University to study the cost savings from four States C departments of transportation (DOTs) that routinely utilize utility quality levels while producing contract drawings. A total of seventy-one projects (71) from Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio were studied. The total construction costs of these projects were in excess of one billion dollars. These projects involved a mix of interstate, arterial, and collector roads in urban, suburban, and rural settings. DOT project managers, utility owners, constructors, and designers were interviewed. Two broad categories of savings emerged: quantifiable savings and qualitative savings. A total pf $4.62 in savings for every $1.00 spent on SUE was quantified. Qualitative savings were non-measurable, but it is clear that those savings are also significant and may be many times more valuable than the quantifiable savings. Only three projects returned less in savings than expenditures. This leads to the conclusion that SUE is a viable technologic practice that reduces project costs related to the risks associated with existing subsurface utilities and should be used in a systematic manner.
Keywords	Utilities Subsurface structures Highway construction Costs Savings Construction projects Virginia North Carolina Texas Ohio Quality control Value Case studies Questionnaires Risk
Source Agency	Federal Highway Administration
Corporate Authors	Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. Dept. of Building Construction Management.; Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Program
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Program Administration.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. Sep 96-Dec 99.
NTIS Issue Number	200014
Contract Number	DTFH61-96-C-00090

Cost Savings on Highway Projects Utilizing Subsurface Utility Engineering.

Cost Savings on Highway Projects Utilizing Subsurface Utility Engineering.
PB2000103837

Publication Date	2000
Personal Author	Lew, J. J.
Page Count	218
Abstract	The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been promoting the use of subsurface utility engineering (SUE) since 1987 as a means to save costs on highway construction projects. In 1996, the FHWA commissioned Purdue University to study the cost savings from four States C departments of transportation (DOTs) that routinely utilize utility quality levels while producing contract drawings. A total of seventy-one projects (71) from Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio were studied. The total construction costs of these projects were in excess of one billion dollars. These projects involved a mix of interstate, arterial, and collector roads in urban, suburban, and rural settings. DOT project managers, utility owners, constructors, and designers were interviewed. Two broad categories of savings emerged: quantifiable savings and qualitative savings. A total pf $4.62 in savings for every $1.00 spent on SUE was quantified. Qualitative savings were non-measurable, but it is clear that those savings are also significant and may be many times more valuable than the quantifiable savings. Only three projects returned less in savings than expenditures. This leads to the conclusion that SUE is a viable technologic practice that reduces project costs related to the risks associated with existing subsurface utilities and should be used in a systematic manner.
Keywords	Utilities Subsurface structures Highway construction Costs Savings Construction projects Virginia North Carolina Texas Ohio Quality control Value Case studies Questionnaires Risk
Source Agency	Federal Highway Administration
Corporate Authors	Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. Dept. of Building Construction Management.; Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Program
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Program Administration.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. Sep 96-Dec 99.
NTIS Issue Number	200014
Contract Number	DTFH61-96-C-00090