 Electric, gas, water, sewer, telephone, cable TV. Just about every road and street in the country has utility installations nearby. Overhead, on the surface, underground. The relationship between roadways and utilities isn't accidental. In fact, state and local laws require that public and private utilities be accommodated on highway and street rights of way. Because utilities are so closely connected with roads, any work involving the installation of new facilities, or the repair or adjustment of existing ones, naturally affects the roadways, especially when it occurs beneath the pavement. Local highway agencies, of course, would prefer to minimize utility cuts in their roads and streets. You can't blame them for not wanting to see the pavements and road beds cut into and the local traffic disrupted. But that's what's required if we want to see our utility services maintained and improved. This two-part presentation from the local technical assistance program, LTAP, focuses on utility cuts in paved roads, making them effectively and safely, with as little disruption of travel and commerce as possible, and without leaving behind a defective roadway. To achieve this, there's need for a partnership among all interested parties, government agencies, utility companies, contractors, and the public. Now the problem with utility cuts, as viewed by the experts, is twofold. The first part of the problem is poor methods of making and restoring utility cuts. For example, poor quality backfill materials and improper placement and compaction procedures can lead to subgrade settlement. Another example, shoddy pavement repair produces a ragged, bumpy road surface. The result of poor work methods is a rougher ride for motorists, and, perhaps, damage to vehicles, more frequent accidents, greater road maintenance costs, and maybe even shortened pavement life. The second part of the problem is poor management of utility cuts, including deficient communication and coordination between utility and agency, problems in locating, marking, and avoiding incidents with existing utility facilities, faulty work planning and scheduling, and inadequate traffic control. To address these problems, we'll look at ways for local agencies to improve utility cut work methods and management. We'll focus first on utility coordination and control, then locating existing utilities, traffic control, pavement cutting, excavation, backfilling, surface restoration, and site cleanup. The coordination and control of utility cuts is affected by who performs the work. In the simplest, most direct cases, a local public works agency is in charge of both the street maintenance and the utility service. Coordination and control in such cases ought to be clear cut, easy and effective, an internal matter within a single organization. More often, however, the coordination must take place between the government agency and a private or public utility company. But still the question can be asked, who performs the work? Utility companies can do it all, including patching the pavement after the utility work is completed, or they can contract the patching to a company more specialized in pavement work. Yet another scenario is for the government agency to perform the repairs, with either its own forces or a contractor that it hires, and then build the utilities for the work. In all cases, nevertheless, the government agency retains the ultimate responsibility, regardless of who actually does the work, local agencies can use several means to ensure that utility cuts are properly made and restored. First, a permit process makes it clear who is in charge of the local roads and streets. Permit information tells an agency who will cut into a road or street, for what reason, at what location, when the opening will be made, and how long the surface will be open. The permit form itself may be simple or comprehensive, depending on the agency's structure. Permits may stipulate requirements for work methods and materials, work hours, safety measures, and other issues. They bind the utility to comply with conditions that the agency deems important. The agency may charge anywhere from no fee at all to one of several hundred dollars to cover as little as handling costs only, or as much as inspection services and restoration work that it may provide. Another means for ensuring that utility cuts are properly made is a performance or surety bond, required of utilities by the local agency. The bond's value should be enough to cover the cost for the government to complete or correct the work if the utility's performance is deficient or incomplete. Agencies may hold such bonds for one to three years, or require utilities to maintain standing bonds so that one is not needed for each new cut. Agencies should furthermore require that the utility have comprehensive public liability and property damage insurance, naming the agency as additional insured. Finally, another way of ensuring that utilities make utility cuts properly is through specifications, ones that guide both the utility's work and the agency's inspection of it. In particular, the specifications should emphasize work quality, promptness of performance, safety measures for workers, motorists, and pedestrians, the appearance of the completed patch, the smoothness of the patch surface, the endurance of the patch, and penalties for non-compliance. Another means used by some agencies is a one-year maintenance agreement or warranty. Typically, these stipulate the circumstances under which corrective work is needed and indicate who should do it. Utility identification markings are a good idea. The agency should have each utility paint its company ID in the proper color code on the curb or pavement next to the patch and maintain it there for one year. This way, the agency will know who is responsible for any settlement or failure. Inspection of utility cut work and the restored pavement surface can assure the agency that the specifications are complied with. Still, the agency's policies and procedures should make it clear that inspections in no way relieve the utility owner of responsibility to the general public or of liability for loss, damage, or injury to persons or property. Finally, communication is indispensable in ensuring that utilities perform their work properly. Besides covering standard procedures and written specifications, codes, and policies, agencies should establish procedures for handling emergencies, who to contact and what cases and how to do so. In addition, local utility coordinating committees should be formed by utility and agency personnel so that they can get acquainted with each other, discuss plans and problems, and coordinate activities during regularly scheduled meetings. Now, locating existing utilities. Most states have laws requiring anyone who intends to excavate to first find out what underground utility facilities are in the area where digging will be done. These need to be located as accurately as possible and temporarily marked on the surface as a guide to the excavator. Such precautions are aimed not only at safeguarding the underground facilities, but also at protecting workers and anyone else in the vicinity. Good morning, Mrs. Michichiro. The all lines are being recorded. My name is Joanne. May I help you? Nearly all states have one call systems in place to serve all parties interested in knowing what's in the ground. Basically, one phone call can initiate a process in which the underground facilities at an excavation site are identified, located, and marked. Information on other utility locating systems can be obtained from your Technology Transfer Center. Individual utility companies or specialized locating services then consult plans or other records for the specified locale. Alignments and depths shown there, however, are often approximate. So, in the field, the locator uses sophisticated equipment to find all buried facilities and mark on the surface their locations, any changes of direction, widths, if more than 50 millimeters, and endpoints. To increase visibility, temporary survey stakes or flags should be placed to supplement the surface marks. All temporary markings or markers should indicate the name, initials, or logo of the company that owns or operates the facility. A uniform color code has been developed by the Utility Location and Coordination Council of the American Public Works Association to mark various categories of utilities. This pocket card from APWA contains guidelines for uniform temporary marking of underground facilities, including the uniform color code. Red for electric power lines, cables, conduit, and lighting cables. Yellow for gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or gaseous materials. Orange for communication, alarm, or signal lines, cables, or conduit. Blue for water, irrigation, and slurry lines. And green for sewers and drain lines, where several facilities lie close together, using the color code makes markings distinguishable and understandable to all. All utility work, whether done in the roadway or on the roadside, calls for serious attention to traffic control. Pave and openings, of course, involve lane closures. Most roads or streets cannot be entirely closed to traffic. So even when full-width crossings must be made, they're done incrementally to allow one or more lanes to remain open for traffic. The key references to traffic control procedures and devices are, first of all, the MUTCD, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. It's the nationwide standard. Second, the local government agency may have additional policies or procedures that must be complied with. If so, utilities and contractors should get familiar with them and integrate them into their practices. In addition, pocket guides, such as this one, based on the MUTCD's requirements, show how to apply traffic controls in various typical locations and situations. The traffic control for each utility cut must be well thought out and set up before any work begins. The planning should be done in terms of a work zone, not merely a work site. A whole work zone consists of different areas, each with its own purpose and requirements. First comes the advanced warning area, designed to tell traffic what to expect ahead, the type of work, its location relative to the road, the need to change lanes, the presence of one or more flaggers. The transition area follows the advanced warning area and precedes the work area. In this case, a one-lane closure on a low-volume street. The purpose of a transition area is to move traffic out of its normal path. In higher speed work zones, a buffer area often comes next. It's intended to provide protection for both traffic and workers. Then comes the work area itself, bordered by channelizing devices. Finally, a termination area lets traffic resume normal driving. Traffic signs and other devices should be the appropriate types, sizes, and colors for the work. In reasonably good condition, set up in the correct locations and spaced properly. Signs used at night must be retro-reflective or be lighted. To be effective, signs and devices must be maintained in place and in good condition. They need to be checked frequently to see if they've been knocked down or otherwise moved out of position. If so, they should be put back promptly. Any that have lost their visibility should be cleaned up or replaced. When a sign's message no longer applies, it's important to cover it or remove it from view. This is a common shortcoming with utility work. For example, a utility work-ahead sign left in place after the work is done. Or a flagger-ahead sign when no flagger is to be found. You only have to fool motorists a couple of times before they start ignoring the warning signs. And speaking of flaggers, when one or more are needed, they should be properly attired and equipped. And use standard flagging procedures to direct motorists. Temporary control measures may be needed to reduce traffic disruption. For example, steel plates could be used to open lanes to traffic even before trenches are backfilled and pavements are repaired. Steel plates that lie flat, having all edges and corners in contact with the underlying pavement, tend to stay put by themselves. After all, they are rather heavy. But often, steel plates are a little warped, or the pavement surface beneath them is irregular. Typically, you see and hear some rocking. Not only does this tend to startle motorists and give them an uneasy feeling, but the constant noise can really get on the nerves of nearby residents. Furthermore, rocking plates tend to migrate due to the action of tires. Enough movement, and they run the risk of no longer bridging the utility cut completely. To avoid this, some local agencies require that steel plates be fastened to the pavements to keep them from drifting. One anchoring method is to drive pins into the pavement through pre-cut holes in the plates, while another is to drive pins around plate edges. Some agencies place asphalt mix around plate edges in an attempt to secure the plates. But this rarely works when they're severe rocking. A better purpose for this mix is to form ramps to lessen the bumps created by plates. Be sure, though, that not too much mix is placed around the edges, or else worse bumps will be formed. On some streets or roads, the average daily traffic may require same-day patches, one lane at a time. In other cases, the work may only be done on certain days or within certain hours. Including, sometimes, restrictions that utility cuts be made only during nighttime hours. All in the cause of reducing traffic disruptions. This is the end of Part 1 of Utility Cuts in Paved Roads. Take a break before continuing with Part 2.