Office of Utility Coordination
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Coordinating utility relocations for priority transit projects
Reconfiguring utility infrastructure to accommodate major capital infrastructure projects is one of the biggest schedule risks to any project’s overall success.
Building Transit Faster Act (BTFA)
In July 2020, the province the Building Transit Faster Act. The purpose of the Act is to expedite the delivery of priority transit projects by removing barriers and streamlining processes that may lead to delays. Part IV Utility Company Cooperation of the Act sets out authorities to enable stronger coordination of utility relocation works and engagement with utility companies and different stakeholders.
Utility Relocation Guideline and Utility Coordination Process Map
To enable stronger partnerships, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) approved the Utility Relocation Guideline and Utility Coordination Process Map, which outline the process for coordinating utility relocations pertaining to Ontario’s priority transit projects. This guideline and process map will help forge partnerships early in a project’s planning and design phase; maintain strong channels for coordination; and clarify the interactions among stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of project delivery.
Office of Utility Coordination (OUC)
The Office of Utility Coordination (OUC) is set up to monitor the compliance to the BTFA processes and provide business intelligence, enablement, and visualization capabilities. It functions as a central hub for managing cases, reporting on conflicts and monitoring associated performance indicators directly related to utility coordination processes of priority transit projects.
There are two main components of the OUC platform. The Ticket Dashboard tracks and monitors the lifecycle of BTFA letters whereas the KPI Dashboard tracks and monitors KPIs to ensure compliance to BTFA. Contact OUC@metrolinx.com if authorized Technical Advisor (TA), utility company or project delivery team requires access to dashboards or any BTFA-related documentation.