Project Coordination Groups

What We Do

The Project Coordination Office (PCO) provides long-term coordination of utility and construction projects that impact the right of way. Five years to six months before projects begin, the PCO brings project managers together with the goals of protecting assets, maximizing mobility, and maintaining access through addressing conflicts, identifying opportunities for construction sequencing, and developing an optimized sequence of work. As part of the Construction Coordination and Mobility Management (CCMM), we work to maintain Seattle’s infrastructure, save taxpayers money and reduce construction impacts on the traveling public.

What's New

In the interest of maintaining and improving transportation assets, Seattle City Council adopted Ordinance 125251 in February 2017, which amends SMC 15.04.100 to allow SDOT to credit use fees in exchange for voluntary transportation improvements. Completing voluntary transportation improvements that go beyond required restoration reduces multiple impacts to the pavement, and improves public infrastructure for less money. Click here to learn more. 

Project Overview

Project Coordination Engineers facilitate the meetings to:

• Validate project data in the right-of-way management system, including project location and schedule updates
• Identify potential conflicts in both project schedules and overlapping work areas
• Identify opportunities for coordination
• Develop an optimized sequence of work for the coordination area

Coordination includes scheduling to:

• Dig the deepest hole first; pave and paint last
• Share utility access to trenches where possible
• Coordinate temporary and final restoration
• Enforce a pavement opening moratorium for five years

The Seattle Department of Transportation launched project coordination groups in 2016. Since then, these groups have helped save an estimated $35 million in restoration costs to public and private entities.

Project planning participation

Participation in coordination groups allows project managers to identify opportunities to share trenching and restoration costs and to work in a street before it goes under pavement opening moratorium. Opening a street under moratorium can lead to more extensive and expensive restoration requirements.

PCO staff validate project locations and timelines using our project coordination application, Coordinate (formerly dotMaps). The data from Coordinate is displayed in the SDOT Project and Construction Coordination Map, an interactive tool displaying current and future construction projects in the right of way, as well as other events that may impact traffic.

All dates are subject to change until the work is permitted by SDOT. Please note: all agencies performing work in the right of way that is planned at least 6 months ahead (SMC 15.32.050) must enter their project information into our Coordinate application, which provides the data used in the Project and Construction Coordination Map.

Coordination Groups

To learn more or to join a project coordination group, contact Ethan Jackson at ethan.jackson@seattle.gov or at (206) 639-0428.

Construction Management Plan (CMP) requirements

Larger projects, and unusually impactful smaller ones, may require a Construction Management Plan (CMP). A CMP is required when the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) determines that State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) thresholds have been triggered, or when one is required as a mitigation measure as part of a master-use permit (MUP). A CMP is a document that outlines plans for project elements such as notification, noise mitigation, vehicle and material movement, and general right- of-way use. In short, a CMP clarifies how you plan to manage the impacts of demolition and construction activity on the public over the course of your project.

A complete CMP addresses questions such as:

• How much material will be transported by truck and what route will the driver take to and from the project site?
• How will heavy equipment get to your project site?
• If you plan to use a crane, how will it impact the public right of way
• What hours does your construction team plan to work?
• Will excessive noise impact adjacent buildings?

CMP and haul-route templates may be found on our Permit Templates and Checklists page. 

When required, CMPs and haul-route plans should be submitted to DOT_ConstructionHub@seattle.gov as soon as there is enough information to determine how the project will be built - ideally between three and six months prior to the start of construction. Expect a CMP review turn-around of 10 business days.

Note: Submission of any required CMP must take place before the SDCI will issue excavation/shoring or construction permits, and prior to submission of your SDOT Street Use permit application.