Utilities are essential services that often occupy the public right-of-way along roads. While utility access benefits both service providers and the public, utility facilities can complicate highway construction, especially roadway expansion projects. Transportation agencies identify utilities requiring relocation through coordination with utility owners during project planning and design. However, no process or technology can guarantee the detection of all buried utilities. Abandoned or out-of-service (OOS) utilities are particularly difficult to identify because ownership records may be missing, inaccurate, or unavailable. When previously unknown utilities are discovered during construction, they can cause significant project delays, increased costs, and contractor claims.
NCHRP Research Report 1185: Out-of-Service Utility Facilities: Management Throughout the Highway Life Cycle, produced by TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, provides guidance on practices for locating, identifying, tracking, and managing OOS utility facilities throughout the highway life cycle. The guide is designed to help transportation officials understand the risks associated with OOS utility facilities and implement strategies to reduce project delays, costs, and construction impacts. It also supports contractors, consultants, utility owners, and other stakeholders by increasing awareness of OOS utility issues and promoting practices that improve coordination, decision-making, and project outcomes.
A report documenting the research conducted to develop NCHRP Research Report 1185 was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 454: Developing a Guide to Manage Out-of-Service Utility Facilities.
92 pages
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8.5 x 11
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-60802-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-60803-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29491
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. Out-of-Service Utility Facilities: Management Throughout the Highway Life Cycle. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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