Interim study examines utility relocation costs as Rebuild Alabama projects accelerate

The Joint Interim Study Commission on Utility Relocation Costs heard an overview from the Alabama Department of Transportation and testimony from utilities and local officials about how the state handles moving power, water, sewer and communications lines for road projects funded under the Rebuild Alabama Act.

Tony Harris, chief of communications and government relations for the Department of Transportation, told the commission “this is a very complex issue” and reviewed the department’s multi-step project development process, the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and examples of recent projects that required multiple utility relocations.

Harris described three projects to illustrate the timeline and scale of relocations: a bridge replacement on U.S. 84 over the Tombigbee River in Choctaw County (shown in the STIP at about $37 million, with design and utility work starting years before the planned bid); the Highway 52 widening in Geneva County (a Rebuild Alabama project divided into two phases, phase 1 under construction at roughly $23 million; combined phases produced 24 relocations across 10 utility owners); and a Highway 14 project in Elmore County (a federal/state project that included bridge replacement and widening, with 13 relocations; four were non‑reimbursable and nine reimbursable).

Har…