A spatiotemporal database approach to the management of utility work schedules in transportation projects

As more and more utility installation and/or maintenance activities are located in highly congested urban roadways, frequent pavement utility cuts in such areas may cause more traffic disruptions and reduce pavement lifespan and quality. One way to lessen such inconvenience to the traveling public is to combine utility activities together in the hope of reducing unnecessary pavement utility cuts, which requires extensive coordination of the utility owners involved and deliberate management of utility work schedules. In this research, an information model and a system based on spatiotemporal database techniques were proposed to help public road authorities manage utility work schedules better. Issues such as constraints of utility permits, pavement moratorium, and utility clearance restrictions were addressed, and examples showing real utility activities and constraints were elaborated to test the functionality of the proposed model. The model can serve as a new managerial tool to facilitate the utility coordination process between public road authorities and utility owners.

Research Highlights
► This research aims at reducing unnecessary pavement utility cuts.
► A spatiotemporal information model was designed to describe utility work schedules.
► The utility activities that need coordination can be efficiently identified.
► Four algorithms were proposed to identify conflicts between utilities and roads.
► Spatiotemporal database, SQL/MM and GIS techniques were utilized in the system.