Subsurface Utility Engineering: A Technology-Driven Process that Results in Increased Safety, Fewer Design Changes, and Lower Costs

A lack of reliable information on the location of underground utilities can result in costly conflicts, damages, delays, utility service disruptions, redesigns, claims and even injuries and lost lives during construction activities. While the location of subsurface utilities might be found on plans and records, experience has often shown that the utility locations are not exactly as recorded or the records do not fully account for the buried utility systems. An engineering process known as Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) has proven to be a welcome solution to providing this much-needed underground utility information. Combining geophysics, surveying, civil engineering, and nondestructive excavation technologies, SUE can provide accurate mapping of existing underground utilities in three dimensions during the design phase to avoid unnecessary relocations, eliminate unexpected conflicts with utilities, and enhance safety during construction. The use of SUE services has become a routine requirement on highway and bridge design projects, and is strongly advocated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state departments of transportation. A savings of $4.62 for every $1.00 spent on SUE was quantified by the FHWA from a total of 71 projects. These projects had a combined construction value in excess of $1 billion. 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. In addition to highway designs, SUE is gaining strong endorsement by other industries and market sectors, involved with design of construction projects involving congested underground utilities.