Managing utilities in the right-of-way (ROW) involves many complicated issues. Implementing a real partnership between road operators and utility operators seems essential and remains key to ensuring road assets are preserved and road user safety is maintained, particularly when work is carried out by utility companies. For these companies, the essential and high-priority needs are ensuring that utilities are long lasting and that relocation-related costs are fairly shared. Understanding and mutual respect of the standards that apply to both networks may be beneficial, particularly with respect to crossing rights and road/utility longitudinal coexistence. The challenges are therefore numerous. Five years ago, the ministère des Transports du Québec began to implement a global strategy for managing utilities in the rights-of-way under its control. This has proven beneficial but is not without problems.
