What the Infrastructure Package Means for Utility Companies & Transportation Departments

By: Taylor Fudge

The November passage of the bipartisan infrastructure package   has state and local governments clamoring for a piece of the pie. Mayors and governors are already competing to secure dollars for everything from widening roads to shoring up bridges to developing highways. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt expressed in an NPR interview his goal of improving bus transportation throughout our metro.

There is plenty of good to come from the infrastructure package, but it will also result in ramifications for many industries — including utility companies and transportation departments. For departments of transportation, oversight of the projects — and the subsequent damages — is a given. But utility companies also need to anticipate claims when relocating materials such as power lines and telephone poles.

Shovels are already breaking ground, and organizations need to prepare for a glut of damage claims. With labor shortages, this could be a challenge to process internally, resulting in lost revenue. While infrastructure dollars can be seen as a windfall for many budgets, the loss of revenue due to unprocessed or improperly processed claims could undercut successes.

Fortunately, our company anticipated the passage of the infrastructure bill and began hiring additional staff to process damage claims. Utilizing CMR to process claims frees internal personnel to focus on other high-priority tasks — such as infrastructure project oversight. Contact us today to learn more about our services.