"What if we didn’t just repave, what if we created Complete Corridors?”
Sandy Kutzing, lead in drinking water task force leader, and Jenny Humphreys, transportation planning and design expert, dig into what real coordination looks like between water and transportation teams to save clients time, money, and headaches by rebuilding smarter.
Want to learn more? Watch this short video with Sandy and Jenny.
Sandy: Where are you seeing clients putting the Complete Corridors philosophy into action?
Jenny: One example that comes to mind is Washington, DC. DC Water is separate from the city’s public works team, so they’ve really had to coordinate closely. They’re prioritizing lead service line replacement in streets that are scheduled for paving and getting ahead of it so they don’t have to tear up freshly paved roads later. And of course, if the water main needs replacing, they’re doing that too.
Sandy: That’s a smart move. And you’ve worked on projects where you’re thinking even broader, like broadband, electric, and stormwater infrastructure. What about bike lanes and bus shelters? There’s real potential to level up.
Jenny: Yes! A few years ago, we started asking, “What if we didn’t just repave. what if we created Complete Corridors?” It’s about more than just restoring what’s there. It’s about rebuilding it better. One of our colleagues on the lead service line side once told me, “We just repaved a road, and now I wish we’d added bike lanes or improved the sidewalks while we were at it.” That stuck with me. Now we’re working with clients to plan out improvements more holistically, and figuring out, okay, if you’re rebuilding this road, what else should happen at the same time?
Sandy: In some of our lead programs, we’re already coordinating with DOTs or Public Works departments to get ahead of paving projects.
It’s about more than just restoring what’s there. It’s about rebuilding it better.
Jenny: If you’re ripping up the street for a lead project, and someone else comes along to pave later, or worse, you repave and then have to dig it up again for a water project, that’s such a waste of money.
Sandy: Exactly. It’s a real cost issue. Not to mention the aggravation felt in the community when we’re tearing up their road twice. And we’re trying to avoid that scenario where a DOT just paved and now we’re coming in and tearing it back up. But even that coordination still feels a little two-dimensional. There’s got to be more we can do and more ways to take this a step further.
Jenny: Definitely. In transportation, there’s never enough funding to do everything we need to. It’s painful to think about investing in a roadway project only to have it undone because another project wasn’t coordinated. So the opportunity to work together is exciting. And I think it’s pretty unique that we work at a firm where water, transportation, and energy is all under one roof.
We’re doing this big public health and safety project, and while we’re at it, we get the opportunity to improve all sorts of other safety issues.
There's less disruption, more value for every dollar, and stronger infrastructure in the long run by taking a complete corridors approach.
