International Lessons to Streamline Right-of-Way and Utility Processes

Get Prepared for Possible Changes in Ontario and Alberta

An effective transportation system is essential for developing and maintaining an economically viable society. However, the related land acquisition, as well as the accommodation for and potential relocation of existing utilities in the roads’ right-of-way, can be costly and time consuming. To address these complex issues, a detailed report of an international scan of right-of-way and utility processes and practices in Australia and Canada was released in June. The 84-page report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of International Programs, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials evaluates innovative technologies and practices that could significantly benefit highway transportation systems internationally.

Both the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and the Alberta Transportation were sponsoring agencies that hosted valuable meetings where details of right-of-way and utility processes and procedures used in the US, Australia, and Canada were shared and discussed. The Canadian meetings took place after the Australian meetings, and the study brought about additional lessons learned from an earlier US DOT scan and study conducted of Europe in 2000.

While the report was intended for US benefit, both the Ontario MTO and Alberta Transportation will likely be taking a close look at some of the recommendations to see which ones might be considered for application right here in Canada. Municipalities and utility owners, alike, might find it beneficial to review the findings so that they can be aware of the issues, possibly provide input to the agencies on changes that could benefit the Canadian utilities and transportation industry, and to prepare oneself for any of the proposed changes.

TSH/TBE Joint Venture was very fortunate to have Nick Zembillas from our joint venture partner firm, Cardno TBE, participate as one of the delegation members. Nick was one of nine delegation members who traveled to Australia and Canada, gathered and reviewed the data, and prepared the report. This article shares some insight from that report. Zembillas was selected to participate on the delegation based on his long-term experience in subsurface utility engineering; his position as a speaker, author and teacher on the subject: and for the firm’s reputation in the field.

“The lessons learned from this scan benefit all participating countries, as the information provided as well as the report findings have been completely shared with all three participating entities,” said Nick Zembillas, senior vice president, Cardno TBE, based in Clearwater, FL. “The US, Canada, and Australia provided input and all three countries received the benefit. In essence, we are working together and learning from each other.”

The International Scan Process

To produce The U.S. Dept of Transportation Report: Streamlining and Integrating Right-of-Way and Utility Processes With Planning, Environmental, and Design Processes in Australia and Canada , a scan delegation was formed and sent to the countries to investigate advances and innovations in technology, management practices, organizational structure, program delivery, and financing. The scan team included representatives from FHWA, State departments of transportation, transportation trade and research groups, the private sector, and academia (see sidebar for scan delegation team members). The team evaluated their findings and developed the comprehensive report.

Lessons Learned

The study team identified 20 potential implementation ideas that merit consideration in the United States. “There are many potential benefits that can be realized by both the Utility Owners and ROW managers to reviewing and implementing some of these practices in Canada,” said Zebillas.

Of the 20 suggestions, the study team considered the following nine to be the top priorities for implementation, of which many may aptly apply to Canada:

Integrate right-of-way acquisition and utility coordination in an alliance contract approach. The alliance contracting approach has been gaining popularity in Australia, particularly for projects with significant concerns about risk, difficultly in scoping a project, extreme time pressures, or considerable need for technical innovation. In the alliance approach, the contractor is selected and involved early in the process and the focus is on assembling and integrating the best team based on qualifications and experience. With the consortium selected upfront, no bidding occurs at the end of the design phase, so transparent communications between the parties, open-book accounting, and gain-share/pain-share arrangements are critical.

Enhance cooperative relationships with property owners to facilitate timely property acquisition. Agencies that emphasized effective communications, appropriate performance measurement, and customer satisfaction were ranked highest in their states on public satisfaction. The Australian states, the Alberta Transportation and MTO share appraisal reports with property owners to achieve full transparency. Both agencies also reimburse property owners for reasonable costs, including appraisal, engineering reports, and planning reports. Additional innovative practices include reconciliation of professional opinions, the use of lease agreements with property owners to facilitate early right of entry to the property, in-kind compensation, and the exchange of surplus property for required property. These efforts result in a more cooperative, less adversarial relationship with property owners, which often leads to more effective property acquisition practices and earlier access to properties.

Promote visualization techniques to communicate anticipated project impacts to property owners. Australian state have been experimenting with visualization techniques, such as three-dimensional drawings and video clips posted on websites to give laymen a better understanding of the potential impact to their property. This seems to promote a more effective process.

Develop a framework to establish proficiency of right-of-way and utility professionals in core disciplines. In Canada, Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning is now offering two college-level courses to certify damage prevention technicians throughout Ontario. This accomplishment is the result of the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance (ORCGA). The ORCGA, affiliated with the Common Ground Alliance, which developed the course material and training manual. Australian states use a variety of approaches to provide and promote training and professional development. Several universities offer formal educational programs for property appraisers. In New South Wales, the NSW Streets Opening Conference sponsored the development of a pilot training course for transportation and utility personnel involved in locating utility facilities in the field. The training course will provide the foundation for a formal accreditation process for utility location services.

Promote incentive-based reimbursement for utility relocations. Incentive compensation, in the form of a reimbursement, could be earned for eligible items of work (such as preliminary engineering, physical relocation, and materials to the utility) by pre-established utility relocation milestones. The transportation infrastructure owner and the utility company set these milestones, and failure of the utility company to meet milestones would cause the utility to forfeit all or a portion of the incentive compensation.

Pursue strategies to facilitate corridor preservation. Alberta and Ontario have legislation that enables the provincial transportation agency to regulate the type of development (including utilities) that takes place within a certain distance from the road centerline or the property line. In Alberta, the extent of the land under regulation varies by road type. In Ontario, regulation tools at MTO’s disposal cover encroachments and utility installations, buildings and land use, signs, and highway access. The minimum setback for new buildings or other structures varies by road type and proposed development. Australian states require the registration of transportation plans with the state land title registration office, which has the authority to add notes or caveats to title certificates on the future use of a corridor, the ability to control building setbacks on corridors designated for future road expansion, and the ability of the transportation agency to acquire parcels during the planning phase.

Promote the use of a multiple-level MOU structure among transportation and utility interests. In a typical Australian MOU, general principles and the intent to work cooperatively are outlined and agreed to at the highest level of management, and general procedures for resolving conflicts. Typically, technical personnel from both organizations prepare these documents. The multilevel MOU concept is also used in the United States. However, the study team’s impression was that Australian MOUs are more elaborate and stringent than those in the United States.

Develop GIS-based right-of-way project and asset management systems. It is customary for Australian states to use GIS-based applications to manage the right-of-way acquisition process, including corridor preservation, as well as property management activities. The use of GIS technology is supported by the use of public acquisition overlays during the planning process to illustrate the extent of the road reserve, the requirement to register transportation plans with the state land title registration office, and the integration of parcel databases into geo-referenced data repositories that facilitate data exchange among stakeholders.

Promote the use of best practices in utility coordination during the construction phase.

Traditionally, utility coordination has been a preconstruction activity. Expanding the utility coordination scope to the construction phase does result in additional costs to the project, however, the it is expected that the benefit would far outweigh those costs. Having utility coordinators assigned to a project in a meaningful capacity during construction would enable the transportation agency to prepare pending utility agreements, expedite utility relocation work, and alleviate conflicts between highway construction and utility relocation activities.

The full report, available at http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/, provides details regarding all 20 key findings and specific implementation recommendations. With the 2000 and 2008 scans, there is now a sizable database of effective right-of-way and utility practices and strategies covering at least six industrialized nations on three continents. The fact that some of those strategies and practices are used in all or most of those nations is an additional indication of the strength and benefit derived from them, further highlighting the value of their potential implementation It behooves transportation officials, engineers, contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Canada to take note and action on these recommendations as they can benefit this country.