COMMON TRENCHING-STATE OF THE ART

In urban areas, expansion of existing utility systems and the possibility of adding utilities increase competition for available installation space. Installation and maintenance of these utilities cause pavement cuts resulting in more frequent repavig and attendant traffic congestion. Common trenching, the installation of multiple utility lines in a single trench, offers the potential for reducing the number of places in which pavement cuts are made. Although many companies indicate that they use common trenching, it is not a universal practice. The English made a detailed study of common trenching for use in public housing, developed standard trench designs and suggested coordinating and operating procedures. Many of these procedures are applicable to the United States. One suggestion, for example, was the use of a single crew for installation, which has proved successful when tried in the United States. Major areas of concern to the utilities are coordination, compatibility, and cost sharing. Coordination can be handled in many ways. Coordinating committees, joint utility procedures, design by a single engineering firm, or use of an outside engineering firm to supervise design and installation and provide scheduling have proved to be successful. Compatibility problems may be eliminted by proper design and choice of construction materials. Cost-sharing formulas have been developed to prorate costs among the utilities. Past research indicates that cost savings from 10 to 20 percent can be anticipated by using common trenching. In addition, if the use of common trenching allows quicker installation, developers, utilities, and highway departments should experience savings. /Author/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/571/571-002.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=COMMON+TRENCHING-STATE+OF+THE+ART&author=W.+Boegly&author=W.+Griffith&author=A.+Compere&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309024846
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Utilities. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Boegly Jr, W J
  • Griffith, W L
  • Compere, A L
• Conference:
  • 54th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia
  • Date: 1975-1-13 to 1975-1-17
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 8-16
• Monograph Title: Utility Facilities in Transportation Corridors
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 571
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Building; Building materials; Coordination; Cost sharing; Development; Facilities; Installation; Public utilities; Residential areas; Scheduling; State of the art studies; Trenches; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Residential development
• Subject Areas: Construction; Economics; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00139571
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309024846
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-019 230
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 6 1976 12:00AM