Report — Department of Commerce, Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot Project Review (February 8, 2023)

Summary

This February 8, 2023 report to the Legislature from the Local Government Division of the Department of Commerce reviews the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot Project and gives recommendations for statewide policy, pursuant to the 2022 State Capital Budget, Laws of 2022, Chapter 296. The budget asked Commerce, in coordination with the SYNC System Improvement Team, the state Department of Transportation and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County, to implement and assess the potential cost savings of Lewis County's regional dig-once approach. The report states that unanticipated benefits included attracting housing projects. Its recommendations include establishing a funding mechanism to support flexible financing for regional dig-once projects.

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Full text

 Lewis County Dig-Once
 Pilot Project Review
 Recommendations for
 Statewide Policy



Pursuant to the 2022 State Capital Budget, Laws of 2022, Chapter
296 (SB 5651, Section 1050)




                                              February 8, 2023

       LOCAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION              Report to the Legislature

                                              Director Lisa Brown
V3.2
Acknowledgments

Washington State Department of Commerce
Chris McCord, Managing Director Boards Unit

LOCAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION
BOARDS UNIT
1011 Plum St. SE
P.O. Box 42525
Olympia, WA 98504-2525

www.commerce.wa.gov

For people with disabilities, this report is available on
request in other formats. To submit a request, please
call 360-725-4000 (TTY 360-586-0772)




 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Why dig-once? ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot ........................................................................................................................ 4

Statewide policy recommendations .............................................................................................................. 7

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 9




  LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                                                                       1
Executive Summary
Overview
Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot
The 2022 Supplemental Capital Budget, Section 1050 asked the Department of Commerce, in coordination
with the SYNC System Improvement Team, state Department of Transportation and the Economic Alliance of
Lewis County, to implement and assess the potential cost savings of Lewis County's regional dig-once
approach. The proviso language for the Dig-Once Pilot Program in Lewis County covered fish passages,
broadband, water, sewers, roads and transportation. Unanticipated benefits emerged during the pilot project,
including the benefit of attracting housing projects and the ability to prepare for upcoming economic
development that will support and host new technologies including proposed hydrogen facilities.

This report offers an overview of the regional approach taken by Lewis County Economic Alliance, as the lead
coordinator, to collect information from multiple jurisdictions using GIS mapping in order to collectively
visualize opportunities for regional project planning and dig-once project delivery. The report includes the
budget estimates needed to complete implementation of Lewis County's regional Dig-Once Pilot.

Recommendations for implementation of a statewide dig-once policy
The second directive of the budget proviso was to report recommendations to implement a statewide dig-once
policy to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) and fiscal committees of the Legislature. During this time
when substantial infrastructure funding for roads and various utilities is becoming available, it is important that
local governments, state agencies and various local partners begin to build funding strategies that can help
strengthen local capacity for project management and delivery. Recommendations set forth in this report aim
to make it easier for local jurisdictions to minimize local disruption and maximize efficiencies.

Highlights
The concept of dig once is not new to infrastructure funding or construction, and now is a good time to put
these strategies into practice to help maximize benefits and efficiencies. Dig once can work, and it can save
local and state governments capital infrastructure dollars that reduce long-term debt and free up resources for
additional projects. Dig once requires local engagement to access funding and coordinate planning, design,
permitting, and construction of multiple projects at the same time. There are small, rural and distressed
communities with infrastructure beginning to show signs of failure across the state, yet they have neither the
ability to take on additional debt nor the technical or managerial capacity to implement a cost-effective
regional dig-once approach. This is an opportunity for the state to build equity and support small, rural,
underserved, and financially challenged communities facing the need to invest in critical infrastructure.

Recommendations
1. Establish funding mechanism to support flexible financing for regional dig-once projects.
2. Harmonize the program policies and applications of state infrastructure funders participating at SYNC to
   sequence timing of funding and construction projects with a dig-once approach.
3. Support local leadership to develop regional dig-once approaches.
4. Encourage local leaders to coordinate with broadband action teams (BATs) and broadband service
   providers to identify areas to accelerate planned broadband expansion and lay conduit for future use.
5. Support efforts to publish maps illustrating state and local transportation and other infrastructure projects
   to enhance awareness of dig-once opportunities.


 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                            2
Introduction
The 2022 State Supplemental Capital Budget (Section 1050), directed the Department of Commerce
(Commerce) in coordination with SYNC, the Washington State Infrastructure System Improvement Team, to
implement a Dig-Once Pilot Program to:

    Identify opportunities to dig once and bury fiber optic cables and conduits, repair water or sewer pipes, and repair
    roads, bridges, and sidewalks at the same time. The goals of the pilot program include minimizing local disruption,
    maximizing efficiencies, and demonstrating the ability to achieve cost savings to state and local governments. The
    pilot program must be implemented in Lewis County in collaboration with the department of transportation and the
    economic alliance of Lewis County.

    (1) The department of transportation and local governments must collaborate with the department to identify and
    coordinate projects in Lewis county that require excavation work on public property, such as projects improving fish
    passage barriers, roads, broadband, water, wastewater, or stormwater infrastructure.

    (2) The department must report to the office of financial management and fiscal committees of the legislature by
    December 1, 2022, regarding the implementation and potential cost savings of the dig-once pilot program and any
    recommendations related to implementation of a statewide dig-once policy.

Commerce worked directly with local and state partners identified in the proviso, including the Economic
Alliance of Lewis County, participating local governments, required state agencies, and other stakeholders, to
assess and support implementation of proposed infrastructure projects in Lewis County. Commerce explored
state-wide improvements and strategies with SYNC partner agencies to meaningfully incentivize and support
regional dig-once approaches across the state. The main incentive is to ensure reliable funding for projects
that are doing the hard work to get projects planned and constructed within similar time frames to create cost
savings for the community at large.

Outreach and interviews for this report included:

          Association of Washington Cities
          Washington Public Utility District Association
          Washington Association of Sewer and Water Districts
          Washington State Association of Counties
          Economic Alliance of Lewis County
          Lewis County - Infrastructure and Housing Specialist
          Department of Ecology - Clean Water State Revolving Fund
          Department of Health - Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
          Transportation Improvement Board
          Washington State Department of Transportation
          Department of Commerce
          Public Works Board
          U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
          USDA Rural Development




 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                                   3
Why dig once?
According to a 2012 study by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), coordinated timing of
transportation and broadband projects can create taxpayer savings on labor, equipment and materials up to
16% per mile in rural areas and up to 33% per mile in urban areas1. Local governments are facing increased
demand to address aging infrastructure, relocate utilities, provide access to broadband and meet legal
obligations to address improved fish passage through culvert replacement projects. Unprecedented federal
investment for all things infrastructure (broadband, water, sewer, stormwater, fish passages, transit, roads,
bridges and energy) presents an opportunity to pursue a statewide dig-once approach that incentivizes
coordination of project delivery and removes barriers for local jurisdictions to proactively align multiple
projects where excavation work is required.

This report thereby considers a dig-once approach that goes beyond broadband implementation to encourage
local and state transportation project proponents to communicate upcoming opportunities to other
infrastructure providers so that they can coordinate the installation or repair of other systems during ground
disturbance in the Right of Way (ROW) and meet these increasing demands in an efficient and cost effective
manner.


Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot
Strengthening communities and growing Washington's economy starts with building relationships and
partnerships. The budget proviso directed Commerce to engage local partners, leverage state infrastructure
expertise, and offer project support to Lewis County to implement and then assess the cost savings from a
dig-once approach. The concept of a locally driven regional infrastructure coordination effort began when the
Economic Alliance of Lewis County utilized American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to develop an interactive
GIS map.

The map enabled local, county and state agencies, as well as private organizations, to visualize all planned
infrastructure projects and proposed development throughout the county on a single map to spur dig-once
coordination. This mapping effort highlighted two critical projects for dig-once coordination, but neither was
fully funded. To support implementation of the pilot project and cost savings analysis, Commerce and the
Alliance estimated the funding deficits preventing full implementation of coordinated and sequenced projects
in Lewis County.

The Alliance worked in partnership with:

               Lewis County
               Local cities and towns (Pe Ell, Centralia, Chehalis, Napavine, Winlock, Toledo, Vader, Mossyrock and
                Morton)
               State agencies: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Washington Department
                of Natural Resources (DNR) and Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW)
               Public and private utilities and industry: Boistfort Valley Water, Birchfield Water, BNSF Railway,
                Lewis County Public Utility District, ports and private developers.




1 Planning and Flexibility Are Key to Effectively Deploying Broadband Conduit through Federal Highway Projects | U.S. GAO published

Jun 27, 2012.


 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                                                  4
Figure 1. Economic Alliance of Lewis County interactive GIS map




The development of the interactive map represented the beginning of the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot. The
goal was to understand what it would take to pull together a regional dig-once approach for culvert removals
alongside multiple infrastructure investment needs in the region. Building collective motivation to plan together
and jointly compile the layers for an interactive mapping tool required significant effort and resources.
Jurisdictions with less capacity came to a common space to plan together, which increased local capacity and
provided technical assistance for smaller jurisdictions in Lewis County to advance their infrastructure project
needs. Looking to the future, this work set the stage for more planned and coordinated projects.

Budget needs
The Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot aims to test cost effectiveness of coordinating and sequencing multiple
projects at a regional scale. The local partners, working with the Department of Commerce, discussed current
planning and reviewed opportunities visualized using the GIS mapping tool. This led to a collective realization
that incorporating additional infrastructure improvements both supports economic opportunities and opens up
affordable and middle housing development. Commerce worked with the Economic Alliance of Lewis County
to develop a cost estimate for two separate projects totaling $10 million to support projects that if sequenced
and coordinated at a basin-wide scale, are likely to achieve between 16% to 33% cost savings and result in
several environmental, social and economic benefits.

1. Rush Road (combined project) — $7.5 million total
   In the past, multiple public agencies including Lewis County, state agencies, the City of Chehalis and the
   Port of Chehalis have made ad hoc improvements to portions of Rush Road; funding for the remaining
   efforts has been a challenge. Rush Road improvements are phased over several years. Remaining
   improvements include but are not limited to widening the roadway and shoulders, installing curbs, gutters,
   and sidewalks, improving road base stabilization and illumination, creating intersection modifications,
   incorporating ADA improvements and replacing a fish barrier on an unnamed tributary to the Newaukum
   River.

   This project becomes even more critical with anticipated increased traffic at I-5 and Rush Road resulting
   from new development at the Port of Chehalis. Improving Rush Road at this time allows for other
   infrastructure improvements that ensure water flow capacity for the Port which aligns with a plan for a
   Hydrogen Fueling Station to support Lewis County's initiative to be a Hydrogen Hub for Transit. This



 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                           5
   investment supports roadway improvements as well as water and sewer system services for future
   affordable and middle housing development.

2. Reynolds Road and Harrison Avenue improvements for planning and engineering — $2.5 million
   Project scope allows for: Harrison Avenue Road Corridor Improvements, Ford's Prairie Interceptor, Harrison
   Water Main, Railroad At-Grade Crossing, Switching Track and Switch Replacement, Reynolds Road Corridor
   Improvements, Coffee Creek Fish Barrier Replacement and upgrades and expansion of multiple utilities,
   including sewer service extension and consideration of broadband conduit. As with the Rush Road project,
   this project also supports affordable and middle housing developers.

   The budget estimates stemming from the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot highlight the importance of access
   to capital funding (as grants or loans) in time to achieve cost-effective sequencing for implementing
   projects.

3. Promote local dig-once coordination through a second dig-once pilot project
   Work with interested communities to coordinate regional dig-once approaches helps increase local
   capacity and ensure efficient planning and construction of multiple infrastructure services. There is an
   opportunity to document efficiencies gained by coordinated regional infrastructure planning and
   construction in furtherance of a statewide dig-once policy.

Opportunities and challenges to a dig-once approach
While the dig-once approach provides great opportunities to achieve cost savings; reduce economic, social
and environmental impact of construction projects; and capitalize on increased services for the region, there
are reasons why dig-once approaches are considered too challenging to achieve in practice:

1. Dig once requires ongoing coordination and facilitation to assist project delivery, including aligning
   planning, permitting, design, funding and construction for multiple projects so that they can dig once. Some
   jurisdictions might have existing resources to provide these services, while other communities, such as
   small and rural communities, might not. If local capacity for coordination is limited, there is the option of
   hiring consultants for these services, provided the availability of sustained resources for this purpose.
2. Funding sources for each project need to be available within a similar time period so that projects aligned
   to dig once stay on schedule.
3. Dig once requires significant project management and an agreement to try to reduce design and schedule
   changes at critical points in the project so that schedule-based dependencies remain on track.
4. Contract agreements need to spread administration costs across project funds and assets as well as
   address broadband conduit ownership and future access rights.
5. Project coordination requires communication about opportunities to install fiber or conduit and other ROW
   construction activities with nearby communities including Broadband Action Teams (BATs) that include
   both public and private broadband service providers.
6. Each county (or larger region) needs to have a clear understanding of projects that might be sequenced to
   dig once. An inventory of projects similar to the Lewis County experience can identify and create dig-once
   efficiencies on a county-wide scale. Local coordinators and partners, with assistance from state partners,
   could create and maintain this information.




 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                          6
Statewide policy recommendations
1. Establish funding mechanism to support flexible financing for regional
   dig-once projects.
  Flexible and affordable funding for rural, small and underserved communities provides needed capital for
  multiple infrastructure projects with identified system improvements and broadband service needs to
  receive funding within a single award, or multiple awards in a similar timeframe. Options for funding
  mechanisms include:

         Make projects whole though a new funding program administered through Commerce and
          coordinated with SYNC partner agencies to provide bridge funding to fill funding gaps not covered
          by other awards.
         For state highway projects, utilize WSDOT statutory authority (RCW 47.44.160) to incorporate
          broadband facilities and infrastructure and charge fees to recover costs.

  These funds should be noncompetitive, first-come first-served for rural, small and underserved
  communities that demonstrate ability for taking a dig-once approach. This includes access to grants or
  forgivable loans for portions of a project that support infrastructure, such as locally owned fish passages.
  Eligibility for dig-once funding should include:

         A local lead coordinator/facilitator or equivalent services
         Substantial road improvements included in transportation portion of the project
         Multiple infrastructure services (water, wastewater, broadband, stormwater, fish barriers, energy)
          extended, upgraded or relocated
         Existing or proposed local agreements to coordinate project planning, design, funding and delivery
         Considered distressed or disadvantaged based upon the definitions of distressed area under RCW
          43.168.020 (3) or disadvantaged community based on Washington State health disparities map or
          Federal Justice40 Initiative criteria.

2. Harmonize the program policies and applications of state infrastructure
   funders participating at SYNC to sequence timing of funding and
   construction projects with a dig-once approach.
  The members of SYNC (Public Works Board, Transportation Improvement Board, Ecology, Health,
  Commerce and Transportation) agree to be active participants with community coordination efforts on
  project proposals that adhere to a dig-once approach.

  To assist local leaders to dig once and advance their infrastructure projects, the state infrastructure
  funders at SYNC commit to exploring and implementing coordinated program policies and identifying
  opportunities in their funding applications to sequence timing of funding to support multiple projects that
  could be implemented within the same time and space. These efforts highlight both state-funder-to-state-
  funder and state-to-local funding coordination and ease the administrative burden on communities to distill
  information about state awards in their county or region: making dig-once efforts easier to access. These
  policies and opportunities will build capacity for small and distressed communities to take on the local
  leadership role and deepen coordination with state infrastructure funders in the process.




 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                        7
3. Support local leadership to develop regional dig-once approaches.
  Small and distressed communities need planning and technical assistance funding to coordinate across
  jurisdictions. Local leadership of dig-once efforts creates a single point of contact for coordination of local
  infrastructure project delivery, including compilation of planned infrastructure projects in a comprehensive
  map view. The role of the Economic Alliance of Lewis County in the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot
  demonstrates the value of local leadership to galvanize county or region-wide support to gather
  information, communicate project schedules and implement dig once. The implementation of tools to
  support local efforts include:

         Piloting local models that utilize Economic Alliances, Economic Development Councils, Council of
          Governments or other locally-driven entities with capacity to coordinate across jurisdictions.
         Utilizing information from existing planning processes and combining with developing public works
          projects.
         Offering state support for financial and technical assistance in communities interested in utilizing
          GIS mapping to visualize proposed future capital infrastructure project needs and opportunities.
         Building local capacity through the SYNC's technical assistance efforts. Share lessons learned from
          the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot and apply a dig-once approach in other regions of the state to
          develop supportive trainings for regional dig-once approaches.
         Developing template documents and related agreements for local jurisdictions to consider and use
          as they coordinate planning and construction activities.

4. Encourage local leaders to coordinate with BATs and broadband service
   providers to identify areas to accelerate broadband expansion and lay
   conduit for future use.
  Regional infrastructure coordination efforts should engage BATs and broadband service providers to
  accelerate broadband expansion by identifying areas for possible investments in broadband service and
  leveraging efforts of local BATs. This coordination connects regional planning with the needs and desires
  of the community and will better identify early opportunities to dig once and place broadband conduit, if not
  full fiber infrastructure, during ground disturbance for transportation or other public works projects.

5. Support efforts to publish maps illustrating state and local transportation
   projects to enhance awareness of dig-once opportunities.
  Transportation projects are the primary catalyst for dig-once opportunities. Published maps of intended
  state and local projects assist dig-once coordination and delivery of multiple infrastructure projects.
  County-wide or regional compilations of planned infrastructure projects, similar to the Lewis County
  interactive GIS map, enable regional collaboration of dig-once opportunities.

  Cities, counties and WSDOT publish planned capital improvement plans and update them on a regular
  basis, but there are not widely available visual representations of these planned projects. Visualizing
  planned regional infrastructure investments enhances awareness of opportunities to coordinate project
  planning and construction in order to dig once for broadband action teams and broadband service
  providers, other utility providers and private developers.

  Examples of state, regional and local transportation project lists and maps currently available include:

         WSDOT construction and planning projects (searchable database)


 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                          8
          Metropolitan and Regional Transportation Improvement Program (GIS map)
          Puget Sound Regional Council - Transportation System Conditions Tool (GIS map)


Conclusion
This report highlights what we have learned about the challenges and opportunities that come with
coordinating a regional dig-once approach with the Lewis County Dig-Once Pilot participants and partners. This
includes nine months of work by Commerce and includes nearly two years of effort invested by local partners
to establish a local coordinating group.

The projects identified in this report have not yet been fully funded and construction has not taken place which
makes it difficult to calculate actual versus anticipated savings. However, increased federal and state funding
of infrastructure is an exciting opportunity to realize regional level community aspirations. Yet without
mechanisms to support the local coordinating bodies, the concept is hard to put into practice. State
infrastructure funders have an opportunity to make it easier to access funding for projects that achieve
multiple objectives and create wide-ranging benefits. The regional dig-once approach is able to identify and
visualize local infrastructure needs that promote economic growth and prosperity.

Small and lower-capacity regions face barriers to access capital resources that align multiple projects
simultaneously and achieve the cost savings and efficiencies. This leads to reduced capacity to deliver needed
cost-effective, system-wide improvements. The proposed policy considerations will incentivize and facilitate
regional dig-once opportunities across the state.

The example presented from the pilot approach taking place in Lewis County sets forth a practice for
local/regional economic development entities to play the role of coordinator/facilitator. Mapping tools can do
two things:

1) The mapping exercise is a team-based approach to telling the region's story. It puts into action options for
   continued coordination and shared expenses.
2) Sets a path forward for planning and design at geophysical and cross-jurisdictional boundaries.

Construction completion and budget estimates for Lewis County and additional pilot projects elsewhere in
Washington are essential for providing a proof of concept that locally led regional approaches, combined with
access to flexible funding for multiple coordinated projects, builds needed infrastructure services cost
effectively and with minimal interruptions.

Equity is a foundation for state infrastructure funding. To ensure equitable and resilient infrastructure, the state
has a role to play to make easy to access funding available regardless of political and economic connections.
A loan and grant program set up solely to support local regional dig-once projects will give local jurisdictions
equitable access and incentive to coordinate and find the cost savings that can be achieved when projects that
disturb roads and earth are done in concert with one another.




 LEWIS COUNTY DIG-ONCE PILOT PROJECT                                                                             9


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