Episode 77. Roadside Mysteries: When utilities pose unique challenges for roadway construction.

Bernie Fette (00:14):
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Thinking Transportation — conversations about how we get ourselves and the stuff we need from one place to another. I’m Bernie Fette with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. When we drive along a new roadway construction project, it’s natural to limit our attention to what’s most obvious, the work that’s being done on the actual roadway. We may not be as likely to notice anything going on with the utility systems in the right of way. That work isn’t necessarily as visible, but it’s every bit as important, since mishaps with electrical, water, and other service lines can be bad for utility customers and they can also cause delays and added costs to the road project itself. Our guest today can help us understand why coordinating the two activities is so important. Dr. Cesar Quiroga is a senior research engineer at TTI and an international expert in the field of utility engineering. Cesar, thanks so much for sharing some of your time with us today.

Cesar Quiroga (01:24):
Sure, my pleasure.

Bernie Fette (01:26):
Knowing that you and I were going to be having this conversation, I was driving through a road construction project recently and it occurred to me that when we drive, or maybe I should say when I drive along a new roadway project like that, it’s natural to notice what’s most obvious. That’s the work that’s being done on the actual roadway. But some of us may not be as likely to notice anything going on with the utility transmission systems that are adjacent to that project. That work isn’t necessarily as visible. So can you start our conversation by helping us understand that piece, how utility engineering fits into the overall planning and design and construction of a road project?

Cesar Quiroga (02:16):
Sure. What happens with any highway project and in fact any infrastructure project, right? You have several phases. You have uh, planning, you have in many cases preliminary design. You have design, you have construction, but you also have areas. You have the design of the road, you have environmental, you have construction piece. But there are two pieces that are frequently forgotten. And one of them is the acquisition of right of way. And the second one is how to deal with existing utilities that are the accommodated within the right of way. And there are two types of utility facilities from that perspective. There are utility facilities that cross the road from one side to the other and more specifically from right of way line to right of way line. But there are also utility facilities that are longitudinally along the road, right, that run

Bernie Fette (03:07):
Parallel.

Cesar Quiroga (03:07):
Exactly. Most of the time many of them are buried. Some of them are aerial, mostly electric and communications. But you have to deal with both.

Bernie Fette (03:16):
Okay. Let’s talk a little about first you mentioned electrical and communications. Are there any other utilities that are running in those same spaces?

Cesar Quiroga (03:26):
Absolutely. So there’s all kinds. Okay. So you have, we mentioned electric and communication utilities, but you also have water. Okay. Drinkable water. You could have wastewater, you could have oil and gas. Being in Texas, of course we know that there is a lot of oil and gas, all kinds of petroleum installations, all kinds of other products, even recycled water. So it’s really a whole portfolio of different kinds of utility facilities. And then to make it more interesting, you have two different kinds. You mentioned at the beginning in passing perhaps transmission, but then there are two kinds of utilities from that perspective, transmission and distribution. Okay. Transmission are the ones that you use to carry whatever it is that is being conveyed. You know, it could be water, but it could be electrics over long distances. These are typically the large facilities, but you also have distribution.

Cesar Quiroga (04:19):
These are the smaller ones that are used to carry a utility service to the end user. And then you have of course the connections that are normally the tiny, tiny little pieces, but most of the time we deal with transmission and distribution facilities. And then the last piece to make it more interesting is who owns those installations? So you have utility facilities that are owned by typically cities and counties in general, a governmental agency that’s usually water and sewer, sometimes communications, electric sometimes. But then you also have privately owned, meaning an investor owned entity that owns and operates these facilities. And then finally you have the reality that you have an entity that owns the installation and then another entity that operates the installation on behalf of the owner.

Bernie Fette (05:09):
So no shortage of complexity there.

Cesar Quiroga (05:12):
No. Absolutely none.

Bernie Fette (05:13):
Let’s talk a little about how much utility engineering issues can impact that road construction. Can you give us some examples of how things look when they’re done right? And also how they look when they’re not done right?

Cesar Quiroga (05:27):
Sure. Let me begin with the ideal scenario, right. Okay. So the ideal scenario is one in which I mentioned earlier that every project has phases — planning, preliminary design, design, construction. An ideal situation is when existing utilities are identified early <affirmative> as early as possible, say preliminary design. An ideal situation is when once you have identified the utilities, both underground and above ground, you identify which of those are in what is called conflict or interfere with the project. An ideal situation is when you identify a strategy to resolve that conflict, whatever that is, it could be reallocate the utility or it could be protect in place. An ideal situation is when you go to the construction phase, not necessarily the project, but the relocation of the utility and then the construction proceeds smoothly, there are no delays. An ideal situation is when you go to the construction phase for the highway project and there are no conflicts, mainly scheduling conflicts. An ideal situation is when you don’t find unexpected utilities that no one knew about. And then finally an ideal situation was when you close out the project successfully, some of those <inaudible> locations are reimbursable and they are reimbursed and the payments are issued. And there are not delays. But you can see from this simple exercise where there are many opportunities for things to go wrong. Right?

Bernie Fette (06:47):
Right.

Cesar Quiroga (06:48):
So, and it’s not just during construction. A myth is one in which people think that utilities cause delays during the construction phase, but that’s only part of the story. The story really starts much earlier. Anytime you have a delay because you didn’t identify utilities early enough, that causes a ripple effect in project delivery. If you have delays or you have inefficiencies in the process to identify utilities early, for example, during preliminary design, there are a number of impacts that could happen. One of those is you might not know what right away you need. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, right. Because if you don’t know where your utilities, you find, you don’t know how to accommodate those utilities within the proposed footprint for the project.

Bernie Fette (07:35):
As you said, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go awry. And as I’m listening to you describe some of the things that can go wrong when it’s not an ideal situation. I’m wondering if the same kinds of problems happen on smaller projects. Are the conflicts that you’re talking about common, for example, on two-lane rural projects? Or are they really more typical on the larger multi-lane urban freeway projects?

Cesar Quiroga (08:01):
All kinds, although at different levels and sometimes different facilities might be affecting the project differently. Yeah. For example, in a two-lane road, using a Texas road as an example, that has a lot of oil and gas installations, you might find a lot of abandoned pipelines. Right? Hmm. Okay. That’s a two-lane road that might affect that. In an urban setting, you might find a lot of water and wastewater facilities that were built decades ago. Or you could have a situation where you’d have a proliferation of utilities and you really don’t have a lot of space to deal with those. And so the earlier you identify those issues, the earlier you will be able to ascertain or come up with the, the ideal strategy or the most effective strategy for dealing with those, which could be a combination of things.

Bernie Fette (08:50):
Okay. You started a utility engineering program at TTI. What was it that motivated you to pursue this?

Cesar Quiroga (08:58):
The main motivation was really seeing that a lot of things were happening over many, many decades and no one was really doing much about it on the research and implementation front. And I saw a huge opportunity to be influential and to help really improve our business processes, not just in Texas, but throughout the country. And that’s what really gave me the big motivation on the professional side of things, I am a civil engineer by training and I have graduate degrees in in water resources and and traffic and other things. And I saw this as a great opportunity to improve the quality of the profession. But one of the challenges that we had was there was no such thing as utility engineering in the form of a specialty. You go to any school in the country, you will not find a graduate degree program leading to a master’s or a PhD in utility engineering. So my big motivation was also to develop and create a niche, create a home for us to develop the workforce, to help develop the new generation of researchers. And I think we’re succeeding in that front.

Bernie Fette (10:07):
And as part of that, I think you had mentioned to me before that you developed something called a utility engineering framework. Can you talk a little about that and how it works, how it helps to anticipate problems?

Cesar Quiroga (10:21):
Sure. The story really begins a little earlier than the framework itself. So with a group of people at the American Society of Civil Engineers or ASCE, we created a, an institute ASCE has several institutes, and it’s already eight years ago we created one for utility engineering, Utility Engineering and Survey Institute, or UESI. So we created the institute to provide a home for all of these topics, but we didn’t know what utility engineering really was. And so several of us came up with a definition. And now the accepted definition for utility engineering is, I’m reading the definition here, a branch of engineering that focuses on the planning design, construction operation maintenance and asset management of utility systems. The first part of the definition and the second one is the interaction. And now I’m adding this other term interdependence between utility infrastructure and other infrastructure.

Cesar Quiroga (11:17):
I know it sounds like a mouthful, but really when you look at the definition, you identify two parts. The first part is what utility companies do their own project delivery process. The second one is, well, we have an existing facility and there is a new project that affects those utilities. That’s the interaction part. And because we needed something tangible, I came up with this framework that really looks at the overall utility process into phases, into areas of expertise. So this framework is, and we have now an infra, we some people call it the six pillars of utility engineering. It’s really a six pillar concept that looks at the various areas of expertise you need to manage a utility process within the overall infrastructure project delivery process efficiently. And it includes utility coordination. ’cause you need someone to coordinate, you know, with everybody, all the stakeholders, you need utility investigations because you need someone or a group that knows how to find those existing utility facilities.

Cesar Quiroga (12:17):
You need utility conflict management. That’s the third pillar or UCM. Because once you identify the utilities, you need to know which ones are in conflict and how to identify the strategies to resolve those conflicts. You need utility design, that’s the fourth pillar, because you need to design something as a result of this strategy that you came up with. You need utility construction, that’s the fifth one, because once you design it, someone needs to build it, you need to inspect it, you need to come up with as-builts. And then the last one is utility asset management is the last pillar because on the side of the utilities, you need to manage the utilities on the side of the owner of the right of way. You need to manage the right of way through permits and other things. So this is a holistic view of the whole process. And we now call it the utility engineering framework. And some people call it, I use that term too, the six pillars of utility engineering.

Bernie Fette (13:10):
Let’s explore just very briefly if we could, some of the different types of projects that you’ve worked on that are characteristic of the pursuits in this area. Sure. What are some of those examples?

Cesar Quiroga (13:21):
I have been at TTI for 25 years, and I started working on utility topics pretty much the following year after I joined. And our research program has evolved as we have completed research projects and new research needs become evident. So let me perhaps begin with the first one because that really helped us start this program. Back in 1999, almost 2000, the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT came up with a research idea to evaluate the feasibility of using GIS to manage utility facilities within the right of way. So I submitted a proposal, we got the project, and there were two tangible deliverables from that. One of those was a spatial data model for managing utility facilities. The other one was the first all electronic, all automated utility permitting system perhaps in the country. And we’ve basically, that system was implemented at TxDOT and it was recently replaced.

Cesar Quiroga (14:20):
But that gives you an idea of the durability, the sustainability of such program that then led to other initiatives now that we had, uh, something to work with which was, okay, here are the utility facilities within the right of way. How do we manage the whole process? So we actually worked on several initiatives or projects that dealt with the utility process itself, how we could optimize this within the project delivery process. Remember at that point we didn’t have the framework at that point. We were just having this whole conversation, utility coordination. That’s what everybody was referring it to. You know, you need to coordinate with utilities, but what does that mean? And so we started looking at the different pieces. Okay. One of the pieces was utility investigations. How do we improve that? Another piece was conflict management. And then later it became this whole thing called utility conflict management.

Cesar Quiroga (15:12):
No one had labeled it that way. It was a utility matrix, right? Something along those lines. And so the framework as it evolved was really the result of many years of different research projects, many conversations with the industry and there it evolved into that framework that I discussed. And the projects that we work on are now firmly rooted on that framework because we see that as, okay, we need to do something with utility inspections, which is part of the utility construction pillar. So we have actually invested time and effort and thanks to the support by our sponsors, I mentioned TxDOT one, but also the Transportation Research Board through their National Cooperative Highway Research Program that actually supported several of our initiatives. Again, dealing with the process, dealing with CM or utility conflict management. The second Strategic Highway Research Program, which is more than 10 years old, actually gave us funding for the development of strategies and a training course on utility conflict management.

Bernie Fette (16:15):
More recently, I think that some of the work that you’ve been doing involves drones and artificial intelligence. Yeah. Could you talk very briefly about that?

Cesar Quiroga (16:25):
Sure. So we started using drones, actually not in connection with utilities <laugh>, it was actually in connection with an initiative that TxDOT had and related to car crashes. Okay. So what happens is that whenever you have a crash, you have to reconstruct how the crash happened, right? And so we actually had this idea of getting drones because we identified very early on several years ago that this would be a tool of the future. And so they gave us funding as part of the, one of the research program and research projects. But the car crash component was only one part of it. The other part was looking at environmental conditions that we need to be aware of when we are using drones. Of course, you know, it’s a lot of wind. You shouldn’t use it if it is dark, you shouldn’t use it. But TxDOT wanted to know what the limits of those environmental conditions were.

Cesar Quiroga (17:19):
And part of that also led us to a lot of testing. You know, different ground control points, different, uh, geo referencing methods, learned a lot. And we actually used those lessons to the latest initiatives. And those latest initiatives have to do with, among other things, utilities. So one of the things we’re doing, we have a couple of research projects, actually three, that deal with the use of these technologies to help us improve the quality of the information. So we are using drones, low cost drones, and low cost positioning antennas that give us centimeter accuracy for positioning. And then we are also using LIDAR and using photogrammetry, which is software. And combined, all of these technologies give us close to centimeter position accuracy. And we are actually demonstrating how we can use these technologies to make the construction inspection and utility inspection process much more effective, which leads to more accurate utility as-builts and construction as-builts, which is really what you want to get at the end of the project.

Bernie Fette (18:23):
So that you have a more efficient process, save money and finish the projects on time, et cetera.

Cesar Quiroga (18:29):
Uh, more accurate information too for this project or for projects in the future.

Bernie Fette (18:34):
Yes. Okay. Let’s talk for just a minute about the future. In your opinion, what areas of utility engineering and transportation might merit the most attention right now from a research standpoint? Or let me ask you, if a research sponsor gave you a check for a million dollars tomorrow and the sponsor said you can focus your attention in whatever way you thought was most urgent and most promising, what areas would you work on?

Cesar Quiroga (19:04):
Two areas. Okay. Um, actually three. But let me first, let me begin with the first two. One is what is called building information modeling. And 3D, the project delivery process in the United States has now embraced 3D design and construction workflows. And it’s not just 3D, it’s BIM information modeling in the sense that you have the entire project delivery process from planning to preliminary design, to design to construction in a 3D environment. And then you can use that information later. Utilities are part of that, but they are lagging in the process. So there are a lot of initiatives at the federal and state level, primarily federal thanks to the work by the Federal Highway Administration. But we recognize that utilities need to be part of that conversation. So we need to develop models, we need to develop workflows, we need to develop better data collection tools, which explains in part the effort that we have to develop new technologies, to incorporate new technologies to capture that information. Because we believe that that’s how it’s going to fit in, but much more remains to be done. Now you mentioned a million dollars, of course is, is probably barely enough to cover that, but that’s one area of interest. A second area of interest is artificial intelligence. We have started to use AI to, recently, for example, we examined, um, more than 150,000 change order records, which is a lot of stuff, a lot of records, a lot of material. These are

Bernie Fette (20:35):
Change orders on construction projects that relate to utilities?

Cesar Quiroga (20:38):
Yes. Charge was to try to examine from the existing database or from the database that we got, how many of those were utility related. In other words, which change orders were caused by utilities or what change orders had anything to do with utilities. The problem is, is that typically what you have is a lengthy description, you know, 200 words, 300 words, 500 words. And doing that by hand is time consuming. In fact, we started doing that, but we actually applied several algorithms to try to extract that information. It was extremely, extremely beneficial for us. We learned a lot. We actually were able to obtain results upwards of 90 percent accuracy in terms of the model giving us which change orders are utility related. And so I think that was one area that involves artificial intelligence. Another one has to do with image processing. So because of this other work that we’re doing using drones, and something that we haven’t even discussed this morning is using ground penetrating radar and time domain and electromagnetic induction as techniques to help us identify utilities that are buried.

Cesar Quiroga (21:51):
Well, artificial intelligence plays a huge role in that because the idea that’s how we are envisioning is take data from GPR, take data from time domain or magnetic conduction or TDEM. I take data from other sources and combine that with algorithms, including artificial intelligence to help develop more accurate, better maps of existing utilities. That’s the second area. The third area, quite frankly, has to do with improving professional capacity, workforce development. The reality is, is that colleges, whether two year, four year graduate school, do not offer programs on utility engineering topics. The way we see utility engineering. Yeah, you could find programs that teach you how to design pipes or how to design electric networks or communication networks. Yes. But there is not a single program in the United States that look at this thing holistically, beginning with laws and regulations that provide the framework for the accommodation of utilities within the right way.

Cesar Quiroga (22:56):
There is simply not a single program that does that. The conversation of how to deal with stakeholders, you know, utilities, property owners on those, which is the larger conversation about utility coordination. No one teaches that. So we have been developing, uh, course material. We have been teaching courses, but I do believe that much more needs to be done. State departments of transportation, cities, counties, local jurisdictions, they provide training to their workforce, but it is not nearly enough. We believe that this is an area where we definitely need to spend much more in the form of course, materials, curriculum, training, certifications, and hopefully leading to what, that would be my goal. Graduate degrees, masters, or who knows, maybe even PhDs.

Bernie Fette (23:45):
Sounds like a rather significant challenge.

Cesar Quiroga (23:48):
It is, but we have had many conversations with the industry and the industry. In this case, it’s, you know, consultants, contractors, dots, and they all identify this need. Another reason to do that honestly, is that at many DLTs, people who work on utility topics or right of way topics, because utilities and right of way are needed because you need to make space for the road, right? But these are organizations that are engineering centric and in many cases right of way and utilities are not managed by engineers or professionals. You know, in many cases there are people who stumble upon utilities and they find they like that field, or because of their rotation, they end up there, but there are not too many opportunities for professional growth within their organization related to rider van utilities.

Bernie Fette (24:40):
Well, this part of our conversation started with me asking about what would happen if you got a check for a million dollars and it sounds like a million dollars would barely get you started.

Cesar Quiroga (24:50):
Yeah. That’s why I kind of laugh. Yeah. Because, yeah, I’m thinking more like 10 <laugh>.

Bernie Fette (24:54):
Okay. Last question. What is it that motivates you to get up and go to work every day?

Cesar Quiroga (25:01):
Actually, two. One of them is that my work is not routine. My day is always different. I cannot say that I ever get bored. It’s always exciting, always challenging when I have conversations with my peers in the industry, and we have many of these conversations. These are very exciting conversations. People are really energized by what we’re doing. And so that’s exciting, you know? And in my case, I have reached a point in my career where I have noticed that people have started to listen to what I say, <laugh>. That’s, that’s a nice feeling. That’s a nice feeling.

Bernie Fette (25:43):
Yeah. Yeah. We’ve been visiting with Cesar Quiroga, a senior research engineer at TTI and resident expert in the field of utility engineering. Cesar, thank you so much for sharing your time and your knowledge with us. We really appreciate it.

Cesar Quiroga (25:59):
Thank you, Bernie. It was a pleasure.

Bernie Fette (26:02):
With any road construction project, there’s a lot going on beyond the work on the actual road, namely all that’s happening with the myriad utility systems in the transportation right of way. That work isn’t necessarily as visible, but it’s every bit as consequential. Transportation agencies, along with colleges and universities have taken notice of that fact. Together, they’re ensuring that utility engineering is a central part of every road project. That’s good news for travelers and taxpayers alike. Thanks for listening. Please take just a minute to give us a review, subscribe and share this episode, and please join us again next time for another conversation about getting ourselves and the stuff we need from point A to point B. Thinking Transportation is a production of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a member of the Texas A&M University System. The show is edited and produced by Chris Pourteau. I’m your writer and host, Bernie Fette. Thanks again for joining us. We’ll see you next time.