FALL 2013

Everybody loves a good mystery. Really?

One of the things I like about utility coordination work is the investigation aspect. It’s kind of an interesting mash up of information exchange, intelligence collection, archeological research, cultural history analysis and detective work. Seems there’s always an endless supply of the unknown to deal with. Of course, from a risk management standpoint, owners, designers and constructors really don’t appreciate mysteries showing up on their construction schedule. Here’s a latest case in point.

Sure enough, just as we started into the early EBSP (Elliott Bay Seawall Project) construction work this past week, we dug up a mystery. No one could pinpoint why it existed or what it connected to, but there it was at the bottom of the pothole – what appeared to be a black, 15-inch, PVC pipe. Copious amounts of records research, field investigation and dedicated SUE during design failed to indicate the presence of such an item. The coordinated conclusion was “an abandoned casing for an old utility under the railroad that used to be here”. Sections of the tracks are still nearby and this pipe lies perpendicular to those tracks.

This was no big shock. A reliable constant in utility coordination work on a complex project is to expect the unexpected once the digging begins. The issue is how the situation is dealt with – a big part of why we rely upon our keys for success. In this case, we applied years of experience and (we hope) some common sense, conferred with the construction inspectors, construction managers and our contractor, and came to the collectively expedited decision that since the pipe was several feet deeper than the temporary item being built, it would be fine to make note of it and leave it be. It doesn’t appear to represent a potential impact to EBSP work and our work doesn’t threaten it. This isn’t to say that I don’t feel the burning need to know precisely what everything is inside the limits of “my” project. It’s just that, keeping ROI in mind, we’re leaving it in the unsolved mystery bucket – at least for now.