Benefits

Subsurface utility engineering has been credited with creating safer job sites, reducing utility conflicts and relocations, curbing project delays, minimizing traffic disruption and decreasing right-of-way acquisition costs. For every dollar spent on SUE, $4.62 is saved in construction costs, according to an independent study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and published by Purdue University. The study also documented that the cost of SUE services is typically less than one-half of one percent of the total construction cost.

An article in the March/April 2004 edition of ASCE's Journal of Construction Engineering and Management noted that "the cost-benefit analysis, based on 71 actual construction projects where SUE was employed, revealed that more than ten times the funds invested in the SUE services were returned to project owners." The highest cost savings factor was the reduced number of utility relocations.

Information gained from utilizing subsurface utility engineering can be used during both design and construction. When designers know where utilities are located, they can plan accordingly by siting structures to avoid the need for utility relocation. Contractors who have complete utility information upfront are less likely to damage utilities during construction.