In the United States, right-of-way permits are required whenever work takes place within a public street or highway. This includes city streets, driveways, utility corridors and larger infrastructure projects such as telecommunications deployments. Proper permitting ensures public safety, compliance with local rules, and timely deployment of network infrastructure.
IMMCO Inc has prepared right-of-way permits for hundreds of miles of roadway across the U.S., including more than 80 traffic-control plans for a smart-city initiative in Southern California. The company’s GIS and software teams have developed proprietary, technology-enabled tools that shorten the permit preparation timeline while improving accuracy and overall document quality.
Building on its success in permit design, IMMCO is expanding its right-of-way permitting services. Drawing on hands-on experience, the company highlights several essential practices that telecom construction firms should follow to avoid costly delays and rework during the permitting process.
1. Ensure data is accurately geo-positioned
Accurate geolocation of features on permit documents is critical. Misaligned or poorly correlated spatial data is a frequent cause of permit rejections after final design, creating frustration across engineering, construction and permitting teams and delaying entire network deployments. Verifying coordinate systems, projection parameters and feature alignment early in the design process prevents downstream issues and reduces the chance of authority rejection.
2. Produce well-planned, compliant traffic control plans
Traffic control plans are a central part of most right-of-way permit packages. Plans must account for all elements of the work zone and use clear, consistent color-coding and symbology. Because municipalities, counties and state agencies use different notations and formatting requirements, traffic control documents should be tailored to the specific jurisdiction’s standards. Thorough, standards-compliant traffic plans speed review and approval by public agencies.
3. Implement a stringent quality control process
Once spatial data and traffic-control plans are in place, a rigorous quality control program is essential before submitting permits for approval. Combining automated QA/QC tools with experienced engineering reviewers helps catch critical issues such as incorrect construction notations, mislabeled network elements, inaccurate distance annotations and inconsistent color schemes. A targeted review process focused on the most common causes of permit rejection prevents avoidable delays and resubmissions.
4. Provide clear, organized documentation for each authority
After quality control, permit packages must be organized and sent to the correct authorities—whether city, county, state or department of transportation. Each document should be clearly labeled and correlated to the specific department or jurisdiction receiving it. Avoiding mixes and ensuring every file follows the recipient’s submission requirements is the final step to secure timely approvals from public agencies.
IMMCO Inc’s recent work in network right-of-way permitting has shown strong results, prompting the company to invest further in this service line. Their combination of design expertise, automation and specialized QA/QC workflows aims to reduce friction for clients navigating the permitting process.
Keith Hayes, CEO of IMMCO Inc, said: “The right-of-way permit process is a common source of frustration across the industry. With our design expertise and automation capabilities, IMMCO is positioned to streamline permitting and make network right-of-way permits a significant part of our services.”
Founder Dr. Ramesh Iyer added: “For three decades we’ve focused on solving the cable and telecom industries’ most pressing needs. Earning first-time approvals on network designs is our hallmark, and we intend to bring that same quality and rigor to the permitting process.”
Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, IMMCO Inc supports clients across four continents with telecom design services and software spanning multiple technologies and design platforms.
Editor’s note: This article is in association with IMMCO.
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