Highway utility shifting
NHAI Utility Shifting Survey for Highway Widening
Utility shifting is one of the slowest parts of a highway package. A clear chainage-wise inventory is where it starts moving.
Quick AnswerAn NHAI utility shifting survey records every buried cable, pipe and duct inside the highway right of way, by chainage, side and depth. The contractor and utility owners can then plan shifting before construction reaches them. We scan with GPR and cable locators and deliver a utility inventory with drawings. Rates start at ₹24 per metre; see highway projects for related work.
What is an NHAI utility shifting survey?
It is a systematic scan of the national highway right of way to record every underground utility that clashes with the proposed widening or new carriageway. The result is a chainage-wise inventory, showing side, offset, type and depth, which becomes the basis for shifting estimates and approvals.
The National Highways Authority of India was constituted under an Act of Parliament in 1988 and became operational in 1995. It works under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and delivers most national highway projects, including those under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, through EPC, hybrid annuity and build-operate-transfer contracts. In almost every package, existing utilities sit in the path of the works. A ground penetrating radar (GPR) cart rolls along the verge and sends radar pulses down. The reflections let the engineer image the subsurface beneath the ground of the right of way.
Why does utility shifting hold up highway packages?
Because shifting depends on several outside agencies, and none of them can start until the clashes are identified. A widened highway may cross the routes of a water board, two or three telecom operators, a power distribution company and a gas pipeline in a single kilometre. Each owner must agree the shifting plan, prepare an estimate and either do the work or approve it.
The ministry has issued policy on how utilities may be accommodated within national highway land, and the shifted lines must meet it. All of this needs an accurate picture of what is in the ground now, not what an old drawing shows. A survey done early lets the contractor send complete clash lists to every owner at once, instead of discovering services one by one as the earthwork advances.
What does the utility inventory record?
One row per utility crossing or running parallel, tied to the project chainage. The format follows the way highway teams already work.
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Chainage | Start and end, or crossing point, in project km |
| Side | LHS, RHS or crossing |
| Offset | Distance from the existing centre line or RoW edge |
| Utility type | Water, sewer, power cable, telecom duct, gas pipe, unknown |
| Estimated depth | From GPR, with confidence level |
| Owner (where marked) | From markers, chambers or records; otherwise left blank |
| Clash | Whether it falls inside the proposed works |
Excavation along a highway should also be notified to buried asset owners in advance; the Mezux guide: Call before You Dig in India explains how that alert system works.
Which utilities are most common in highway RoW?
Telecom ducts are often the most numerous, followed by water mains, power cables and, near cities, gas pipelines. Highway verges have long carried optic fibre, and a single verge may hold ducts from several operators, some live and some abandoned. We trace each one, and where markers or chambers show the owner, we note it.
The scanning method for these ducts is the same as on a fibre route; see OFC route GPR survey at a glance. Because so much of the shifting involves fibre, there are details of telecom operator projects on our sector page that shifting teams also find useful.
- Near towns: water pipes, sewer mains, LT/HT cables and street-light cables.
- Between towns: long-distance telecom ducts, irrigation pipes, occasional power cables.
- At junctions and bypasses: all of the above, plus gas pipelines in many regions.
Is the approach different for widening and greenfield highways?
Yes. Widening means scanning the full width of the existing RoW; greenfield routes mean scanning the crossings with existing roads and services. On a four-laning or six-laning package, utilities run parallel to the road for kilometres and must be found along both sides. On a greenfield expressway, most of the alignment crosses farmland, and the work concentrates on where it meets existing roads, canals, railways and pipelines.
Both benefit from integrated planning. The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, launched in 2021, brings infrastructure and utility data onto a common platform. Our drawings can be supplied in GIS formats that fit such systems.
What happens after the inventory is issued?
The clash list goes to each utility owner, joint inspections follow, and the critical points are confirmed by trial pit. A typical sequence on a highway package runs like this:
- The contractor sorts our inventory by owner and sends each agency its own clash list with drawings.
- Joint site inspections are held, using our paint marks and chainage blocks to find each service quickly.
- Trial pits are dug at the crossings where depth decides the shifting method.
- Owners prepare shifting proposals and estimates.
- After shifting, a short re-scan confirms the new positions and records them for the as-built file.
That last step is often skipped, and it should not be. A highway will be widened again one day, and accurate underground utility mapping of the moved services saves the next project the same delay.
How quickly can a corridor be surveyed?
Open highway verges move fast; town sections, junctions and service roads take longer. We plan crews per package, scanning both sides in parallel where traffic management allows. Each completed stretch is reported as a chainage block, so the contractor can start shifting correspondence while data collection continues.
Traffic safety comes first. Our crews work behind barricading and cones, in high-visibility clothing, under the contractor's traffic management plan, and our safety system is certified to ISO 45001.
What does a utility shifting survey cost?
₹24 per metre of scan for a standard survey and ₹32 for an L-section, plus GST. Minimum order is ₹50,000 in Delhi NCR and ₹1,00,000 elsewhere, with whole-order discounts of 25% above 100 km, 40% above 500 km and 50% above 1,000 km.
A 24 km widening package scanned along both sides is 48 km of scan: 48,000 × ₹24 = ₹11,52,000 plus GST. A 140 km greenfield corridor earns the 25% slab, so the rate becomes ₹18 per metre and the order totals ₹25,20,000 plus GST. You can read about GPR survey rates and inclusions on the price list.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued utility shifting survey orders to Mezux Touch on its own account. Company names on this page are used only to describe the type of work; all trademarks belong to their owners. Highway contractors, concessionaires and design consultants hire us too. Share the package chainage and the proposed RoW, then book a survey slot.
Frequently asked questions
Can you identify the owner of each utility?
Only where markers, chambers or records show it. GPR shows that a buried object exists and where it lies; ownership is confirmed with the agencies.
Do you prepare the shifting estimate?
No. Estimates are prepared by or for the utility owner. Our inventory gives them the location and depth data to work from.
How do you handle a highway crossing for a shifted utility?
We run an L-section across the road and both pit areas; what we do: HDD route survey covers the drilling plan.
Can the data go into the project's GIS?
Yes. We supply DWG, PDF, KMZ and shapefiles on request, with depth confidence that reflects the soil conditions on each stretch.
Do you scan the median?
Yes, where the median is to be disturbed and traffic management allows access.
Get a written quote for your highway package
Infrastructure pages
Before you dig
Written by Saniya Parveen · Technically reviewed by Rahul Rai · Updated 8 November 2026