Optimizing facilities placement and automating permit process for improved utility corridor development

The number of utilities that want to share the transportation right-of-way is rapidly increasing. To promote the best possible allocation of limited resources, a computer-based procedure intended to assist and enhance the routine process of granting permits is suggested. A program strategy has been developed to make an optimization capability available to a permitting agency during examination of the permit application, which is assumed to be filed electronically. The results of this program are intended to provide a basis for granting or denying permits by checking physical constraints to installation, safety, and total cost. The advantage of such a program lies in the ability to examine a large set of possible installation configurations. In cases in which no basis for a simple decision is apparent, a report of this fact is made so that other steps can be taken. The ability to expand occupancy of a corridor at some later date is yet one more consideration relating to the quality of any proposed solution, and this concept is explored as well. The program and examples presented here represent a prototype effort with sufficient generality to be applicable in widely varying circumstances.