Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE)

Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) is an engineering process that involves managing certain risks associated with underground utility mapping at appropriate quality levels. The SUE process combines civil engineering, surveying, and geophysics. It utilizes several technologies, including vacuum excavation and surface geophysics, and has become a routine requirement on many projects including transportation and utility projects in many states.

Bowman uses SUE to help identify underground information, and since in the past the inability to obtain reliable underground utility information has long been a challenge for roadway ad highway designers in the United States, this can streamline the process and identify any potential problems. Many states now utilize SUE to identify the quality of subsurface utility information needed for plans, and to acquire and manage that level of information during the development of projects. SUE in its optimal use can greatly reduce project costs by eliminating unexpected utility conflicts during construction and delays caused by redesign.