Local governments and utilities often fail to properly coordinate infrastructure projects, which results in roads being dug up repeatedly, wasted funds from repaving the same areas, and frustrated residents dealing with construction disruptions. A cloud-based platform allows all stakeholders to view planned projects on a map and identify conflicts or opportunities for collaboration in real-time. Cities like Winnipeg and Baltimore now use such systems, saving money, streamlining processes for special events, and improving coordination between government departments and private utilities.

1. “…they would dig up the street, do the work, pave it back over.
Then another utility would come in, dig it back up, do their work,
and pave it back over.”
— Blog post by “Amy,” July 15, 20141
For as long as people have been burying infrastructure
under pavement, local governments have struggled to
coordinate projects in the public right of way. The failures are
frequent and all too visible. For example:
ƒƒ A city’s highway or street department repairs potholes and
repaves a street. Months later, the telecommunications utility
cuts into that fresh pavement to work on its fiber optic cable.
Maybe the telecom company is responding to an emergency.
Or maybe the utility and government failed to coordinate.
ƒƒ The water department digs up a road to repair a leaking
main. Soon afterward, the sewer department launches a
project to extend service to new homes on the same road.
ƒƒ The city closes a street for construction, blocking the main
route to the local university on move-in day.
When government agencies and utilities don’t schedule their
infrastructure projects in a logical sequence, those errors cause
big problems. One obvious consequence is extra expense. Few
cities or counties can afford to pave a roadway only to pave it
again a short time later. And road cuts — especially in roads that
were recently paved — trigger rapid deterioration.
“The public pays the cost of untimely pavement
deterioration either directly through premature maintenance
and rehabilitation, or indirectly through the effect of rough
roads on their vehicles,” says the U.S. Federal Highway
Administration in a manual for controlling and reducing
pavement utility cuts.2
Poorly coordinated projects also frustrate residents who
have to contend with detours, noise and dust. Business owners
see trade drop as projects block access to their doors. And
constituents fume at the thought of tax dollars going to waste.
Miscommunication can also endanger public safety — for
instance, if an ambulance service doesn’t get word about a
closure on the most direct route to the emergency room.
What’s Missing: Collaboration
Problems arise, in part, because local governments and
private sector partners lack effective ways to collaborate.
Even within government, different departments — highway,
public works, public utilities, etc. — have limited visibility into
projects or procedures for coordinating activities.
Often, a city or county will impose a pavement cutting
moratorium to prevent unnecessary street cuts, prohibiting new
work for a certain number of years after a street is repaved. The
government gives utilities a chance to work in the right of way
before the government’s own project starts. Often, though, a
utility can circumvent a moratorium, winning permission to cut
into recent pavement by declaring an infrastructure emergency.
When government agencies and private utilities try to
coordinate their projects, they communicate mainly through
meetings, phone calls and paper forms. Those methods are
time consuming, and they aren’t always effective. If a person
misses a meeting, or if paper forms don’t reach all stakeholders,
miscommunication can occur. Additionally, private sector
partners may be reluctant to share plan details, concerned
about giving competitors access to proprietary information.
Furthermore, the tools used to share information often fall
short of the need. Text-based lists, spreadsheets and databases
without mapping capabilities make it hard to envision the
geographic impact of a project, or a cluster of projects.
HowaCloud-BasedPlatformSolvestheProblem
The most reliable way for local agencies and utilities to
collaborate is to create a neutral platform where all stakeholders
can share information on projects and work together.
Using a map-based system that operates in the cloud,
agencies and utilities can coordinate activities, identify conflicts
as well as opportunities to collaborate, see how upcoming
projects and special events will affect streets and highways, and
learn in real time about any changes to project plans.
A government can also use this technology to inform the
public about street closings and infrastructure projects. Some
cities are already benefiting from cloud-based right of way
management solutions.
ThinkBeforeYouCut:
ImprovingCollaborationinthePublicRightofWay
Issue Brief

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Endnotes
1. www.bubblews.com/news/4521779-utility-company-is-tearing-up-my-street-again
2. www.fhwa.dot.gov/utilities/utilitycuts/man02.cfm
3. Quotes from Derrick Saedal are from interview with Governing on Oct. 15, 2014
4. www.accela.com/company/customers/success-stories/winnipeg
5. www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/construction/crp/baltcasestudy/index.htm
6. Quotes from Babila Lima are from interview with Governing on Oct. 22, 2014
Underwritten by:
For example, the City of Winnipeg, capital of Manitoba,
Canada, has used an online right of way management solu-
tion since 2010. The system provides a map-based repository
where city departments and local utilities share data about
upcoming projects.
The solution allowed Winnipeg to institute pavement cutting
moratoriums. Without a collaboration tool, utilities would find
it hard to coordinate and complete work before a moratorium
went into effect, says Derrick Saedal, supervisor of Winnipeg’s
Underground Structures Group. “But now we’re saying, ‘We
want you to schedule and coordinate with us, and here is a
solution you can use.’ The utilities are happy to have this tool.”3
Now that Winnipeg has transformed the management of
infrastructure projects, the city is using the tool to coordinate
use of the streets for special events such as marathons, festivals
and film shoots. Such coordination is critical. For example,
when a movie company takes over several city blocks, all other
work in the area must stop, Saedal says. “Obviously, you don’t
want somebody jackhammering across the street.”
A street closure for a special event also affects a wider area
as the city diverts traffic. Before setting up a detour, it’s important
to understand conditions on the alternative route. “There may be
construction on that other street,” Saedal says. Map-based col-
laboration helps city agencies and their partners visualize the full
potential impact of special events and plan accordingly.4
The City of Baltimore implemented a solution for right
of way management and government officials projected
the system would save Baltimore more than $900,000
per year.5
The city and its partners use the system not only
to spot potential conflicts, but also to identify collaborative
opportunities. Baltimore has also started using its system
to improve coordination of special events. In the past, event
sponsors worked with different departments to get multiple
permits — the Housing Department for major events on private
property, for instance, and Recreation and Parks for events
in parks. Each department used a separate software system.
Today, Baltimore is implementing a permitting solution under
which all events will flow through the right of way management
system, providing a comprehensive view of all activities and
potential uses of public spaces.
“We are redesigning workflows and working to maximize
the utility of our software to better integrate the silos and that is
key for resource management, event management and public
safety purposes,” says Babila Lima, special assistant to the
administration and project manager within Baltimore’s Depart-
ment of General Services. For instance, if different organizations
schedule a baseball game, an outdoor concert and a com-
munity cookout on the same day on adjacent streets, and/or
adjacent lots, and/or on adjacent park spaces, the police will
learn about those events in one glance.6
Baltimore is enhancing its system with data on licensed food
carts and trucks. “It’s important for us to know where those are,
so we can adequately manage resources, be able to produce
quick and accurate information for our customers, and resolve
conflicts,” Lima says. For example, if a food truck is licensed to
park on a street that’s slated for construction, the right of way
system will highlight the conflict and help city officials find the
vendor a good temporary location.
Conclusion
Without effective coordination, projects in the right of way
may cause a great deal of inconvenience and extra expense.
By implementing technology that enables collaboration among
agencies and private sector partners, a local government can
operate more efficiently, make better use of taxpayer dollars and
keep its citizens informed and engaged.