Center for Transportation Research and Education

About the research

The objective of this research was to identify best practices and prepare guidelines for state departments of transportation (DOTs) on how to evaluate and charge for the accommodation of utility and communication installations on public right-of-way (ROW). The guidelines include a comparison of fees, leasing, and in-kind trading used by a majority of state DOTs. Reasons for the variance in fees, valuation methods, and other factors were analyzed to explain the variation in approaches taken by state DOTs and standardized and normalized so that the comparisons are evaluated in like terms. The guidance should provide state DOTs the means and approaches necessary to execute a fee or leasing schedule for occupancy both for general utilities and for telecommunications facilities.