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Paul's Corner - His History of SUE

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING (Part III)

By Paul Scott | January 30, 2023 | 0 Comments

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING   Post-21 – Presentations in the FHWA Region 6 States The FHWA SUE Promotion Team took a few months off after making presentations promoting SUE to state DOTs in the FHWA’s Region 5 and then hit the road again, this time going to FHWA’s Region 6. The team consisted of […]

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING (Part II)

By Paul Scott | January 24, 2023 | 0 Comments

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING Post-20 – Presentations in the FHWA Region 5 States The FHWA SUE Promotion Team was off to promote SUE.  The team consisted of Bernie Levin (Maryland SHA), Jim Anspach (So-Deep, Inc.), Paul Scott (FHWA-HQ), and Clair Hendrickson (FHWA-R5). FHWA Region 5 states to be visited were Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, […]

1993 PRESENTATIONS IN REGION 5 & 6 STATEs FOR SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

By Paul Scott | January 16, 2023 | 0 Comments

#Subsurface Utility Engineering Post 19 – Presentations in Region 5 & 6 It was 1993 and none of the State DOTs in the FHWA’s Regions 5 and 6 had used SUE. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin DOTs were in Region 5. Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas DOTs were in Region 6. […]

THEY DIDN’T THINK SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING WOULD WORK

By Paul Scott | January 10, 2023 | 0 Comments

#SubsurfaceUtilityEngineering Post-18 – They Didn’t Think Subsurface Utility Engineering Would Work I hope your holidays were nice and you are already working to make 2023 the best year ever. I had a nice holiday break and am ready to move on with the history of SU E. When I left a few weeks ago, we […]

GEOTRACK, INC. – SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

By Paul Scott | December 8, 2022 | 0 Comments

#Subsurface Utility Engineering   Post 17 — Geotrack, Inc.   GEOTRACK, Inc. So far as we knew at FHWA, there were four providers of SUE services in 1992. Three of these providers – So-Deep, Geotrack, and TBE Group — stopped by our office in Washington, DC to introduce themselves and came back frequently. We met […]

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING – SUE STORIES (PART I)

By Paul Scott | November 28, 2022 | 0 Comments

#Subsurface Utility Engineering Post-16 HISTORY OF SUE – SUE STORIES (PART I) I have been telling the SUE story from my FHWA perspective. All SUE practitioners have stories to tell. The following three stories probably tell more about the growth of SUE than all the words I could put together. DAVE COLE has promoted SUE […]

FHWA MOVES FORWARD WITH SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

By Paul Scott | November 22, 2022 | 0 Comments

#Subsurface Utility Engineering Post-15 FHWA MOVES FORWARD Last week I asked for information from anyone that worked for a provider or knew of a provider that offered Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) services during the 1990s. We will begin looking at responses to that request in a few weeks. We’re now moved in the history of SUE […]

FHWA GOES TO WORK WITH SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

By Paul Scott | November 14, 2022 | 0 Comments

Post-14  FHWA GOES TO WORK   Last week I recalled some of the early history of Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE). This week I want to begin talking about the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and its role in the history of SUE. I mentioned in a previous post that we prepared a memo for FHWA Division […]

SUMMARY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING FROM 1980-1991

By Paul Scott | November 7, 2022 | 0 Comments

POST-13 SUMMARY OF SUE FROM 1980-1991 Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) grew so much during the 1980s, much more than I anticipated when I began writing down my memories. To truly understand what SUE is today, I believe it is important to understand what it was in the beginning. So, this week, I would like to […]

FHWA BEGINS PROMOTING SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

By Paul Scott | October 31, 2022 | 0 Comments

#Subsurface Utility Engineering Post-12 FHWA BEGINS PROMOTING SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING My history of Subsurface Utility Engineering continues. Jerry Poston, Jim Overton, and I came back to the office after our initial meeting with So-Deep and began discussing what FHWA could do to prevent accidents such as shown in the picture and help promote Subsurface Utility […]

4Sight Blog Posts

HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING Post-53 – Looking Back (1981-1984)

By Paul Scott | May 1, 2024 | 0 Comments

Post-53 – Looking Back (1981-1984) This week’s picture was provided by Jim Anspach and is of SUE work in 1984 on the first State DOT project (see more below). The quality of the picture is not very good, but I wanted to use it anyway because it is probably the only picture in existence of […]

Guideline for the Coordination of Utility Relocations on PPP Projects (2021)

By denise.arcand | April 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

This is our last in the series of looking at TAC-PUMS publications. It may be the last, but it is also the most anticipated. Completed in late 2020, we are anticipating publication any day now by TAC. The goal is to have it as a free download from the TAC website. It is written in […]

National Survey for Utility Agreements (2020)

By denise.arcand | April 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

Completed in 2020, this report is not yet even published by TAC but it does contain some great information. It was completed by a task force within the TAC PUMS committee – led by Jean-Francois Demers (MTQ), and with help from Pierre Gagnon (MTQ), Barry Poon (Calgary) and Jevito Marchese (Mississauga). The purpose of the […]

Guidelines for the Coordination of Utility Relocations (2016)

By denise.arcand | April 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

Published in 2016, this guideline has been used by several Municipalities and Government agencies to help produce or update their own Utility Coordination Guidelines and that is exactly what it was meant to do!!! The guideline is written from the perspective of a roadway owner completing a Design-Bid-Build project. It is focused on DBB, however […]

A Guide for the Accommodation of Utilities within Freeway Rights-of-Way (2011)

By denise.arcand | April 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

This guide is intended to help road authorities establish and administer guidelines for accommodating Utilities with the Freeway Right-of-Way. There guide is applicable for Canada although it is a very good reference to compare with other similar guidelines such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) – A Guide for Accommodating […]

Management of Utilities in and adjacent to the Public Right-of-Way: Survey of Practices

By denise.arcand | April 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

This was the first publication from the Transportation Association of Canada’s – Public Utilities Management Subcommittee (PUMS). The major components were a review of current practices across Canada and around the world, and a Survey of Ministries of Transportation and Municipalities to get a sense for how they deal with Utilities. Although the number of […]

A Guide to key Utility Risk Management Standards & Guidelines

By denise.arcand | February 4, 2021 | 0 Comments

One critical aspect of managing Utility Risk on projects is to have a set processes or standards to follow. The best way to start and develop these is to look at existing standards and best practices that have been developed by other users and practitioners from reputable industry focused groups like the Utility Engineering and […]

Review of SUE for Municipalities

By Lawrence Arcand | December 9, 2020 | 0 Comments

Review of SUE for Municipalities (Dec 9, 2020) This publication of the ASCE Utility Engineering and Survey Institute is a must read for any municipality, government agency or consultant looking to procure SUE services.  The publication was written by two legends in the SUE world, Jim Anspach and Paul Scott. Key items in the publication […]

WHO IS PAUL?

Paul Scott retired from his role at the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2003 after a successful 35 year career.  While at FHWA Paul was instrumental in the growth of SUE on highway projects across the country.

Lawrence had the pleasure of working alongside Paul during his Post FHWA years in Consulting.  It was during this time that he garnered my immense respect and admiration for him as a professional and a friend.

Paul has been there from the beginning and is a true historian on SUE.  Through this blog he will recount in detail the history of SUE through, as seen through his eyes, over the last 40 years.  Enjoy!

Contact Us

If you are interested in joining the team, or having us work with you on an upcoming project, the best way to get in touch is to call us at 905-424-1959 or e-mail at Lawrence.Arcand@4SightUE.com.

We look forward to talking to you and sharing our passion with you!