WithersRavenel has provided statewide on-call Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) services to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) through multiple consecutive Location & Surveys and General Engineering Services Consultant (GESC) contracts since 2017. Serving as an extension of NCDOT’s Location & Surveys Unit, our team provides rapid-response utility investigations, utility risk assessment, utility coordination, and survey support for transportation projects throughout North Carolina.
Under these contracts, WithersRavenel has performed Quality Level A, B, C, and D investigations in support of roadway, bridge, rail, intersection, and interstate improvement projects. Services have included utility records research, utility owner coordination, electromagnetic (EM) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) utility designation, vacuum excavation and test-hole investigations, utility surveying, utility mapping, and OpenRoads Designer (ORD) deliverables. By integrating SUE with conventional survey, GIS, and remote sensing technologies, our team delivers accurate utility data that reduces design uncertainty, mitigates utility conflicts, and supports efficient project delivery.
Representative Projects
Through the current contract cycle since 2023, WithersRavenel has completed assignments across all 14 NCDOT divisions, supporting projects ranging from bridge replacements and roadway widening projects to interstate improvements and the Southeast High-Speed Rail (SEHSR) Corridor. Representative assignments include SEHSR in Franklin and Vance Counties, where nearly 90,000 linear feet (LF) of utility infrastructure were investigated and documented, and the R-3430C roadway improvement project in Caldwell County, where more than 185,000 LF of utilities were designated and mapped through Quality Level B and C investigations, supplemented by Quality Level A test-hole services.
Another major undertaking has been the I-5718 project along I-77 South in the Charlotte area. In addition to the conventional survey tasks, WithersRavenel provided SUE Quality Levels B and C totaling over 500,000 LF (94+ miles) of marked and surveyed underground utilities. Further tasks have involved classifying aerial features, locating planimetric features, and mapping underground storm and sanitary sewer utilities, totaling over 1,370 storm structures and 235 sewer structures.
Additional task orders have supported bridge replacement projects in Bertie, Halifax, Edgecombe, Guilford, Cleveland, and Catawba Counties; roadway and intersection improvements in Wake, Guilford, and Sampson Counties; and interstate corridor improvements in Alamance County. Across these projects, WithersRavenel identified, designated, surveyed, and documented telecommunications, fiber optic, electrical, water, sewer, and other critical underground utilities to support design development and reduce construction risk.
WithersRavenel maintains dedicated statewide SUE resources, supported by experienced project managers, utility investigators, survey professionals, and QA/QC staff who understand NCDOT standards and delivery expectations. Our ability to rapidly mobilize crews, consistently deliver accurate utility information, and successfully support projects across North Carolina has made us a trusted long-term partner for NCDOT’s transportation program.