Streamlining and integrating right-of-way and utility processes with planning, environmental, and design processes in Australia and Canada.

Many transportation projects require acquisition of land and accommodation of utility facilities in the right-of-way. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of Australia and Canada to learn about innovative practices for right-of-way and utility processes. The study complemented a 2000 study of European countries. The scan team identified nine priorities for U.S. implementation: promote incentive-based reimbursement for utility relocations, pursue corridor preservation strategies, use an alliance contract approach to integrate right-of-way acquisition and utility coordination, enhance cooperative relationships with property owners to facilitate timely property acquisition, develop GIS-based right-of-way project and asset management systems, promote visualization techniques to communicate project impacts, promote use of multiple-level MOU structures, promote use of utility coordination best practices during construction, and develop a framework to establish proficiency of right-of-way and utility professionals. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/pl09011/rowu_web.pdf