For this project on the campus of North Carolina State University, McKim & Creed provided Quality Levels A and B SUE, planimetric and topographic mapping and utility coordination.
When North Carolina State University (NCSU) installed a chilled water trunk main for its Cates Avenue plant, facility managers understood that SUE mapping was crucial to successful installation. The site contained dense utility corridors, making it difficult for designers to determine the most appropriate route. The available utility information was outdated, so designers didn’t have a clear understanding of what utilities were located where. And lastly, the location of large underground utility vaults was unclear.
McKim & Creed’s SUE professionals performed QL-B SUE work. This involved using electromagnetic (EM) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) equipment to horizontally locate underground utilities. In addition, McKim & Creed dug 20-30 QL-A test holes to determine the exact location, size and type of specific underground utilities.
McKim & Creed also provided utility coordination services, which included working closely with the university’s facilities management group and external utility owners to review existing records and conduct site visits as needed. We collaborated with the university to plan and implement such logistics as parking, permitting, traffic control and sidewalk closings. Detailed coordination was required to create a safe worksite that minimally impacted students walking to class as well as campus buses and trolleys that made regular stops near the site.
Now completed, the chilled water mains transport water from the Talley Student Center to the Cates Central Utility Plant, and from the utility plant to two dormitories. North Carolina State University has a total enrollment of 34,105 students.