Disney World solved a problem that could save America billions every year
Buried beneath every American city is a mysterious jumble of cables, pipes, and gas lines, entangled like a pair of wired headphones the moment you pull them out of your pocket. Every time a contractor sticks a shovel in the asphalt, they embark on a high-risk excavate-by-dots obstacle course, dodging color-coded clusters of spaghetti-like power […]
Every time a contractor digs in the asphalt, they navigate a high-risk obstacle course dodging cables, pipes, and gas lines. About 700,000 times per year, something goes wrong due to accidents caused by mislabeled or unmarked underground utilities. These incidents cost the US around $83.2 billion annually, equivalent to the annual public transit investment across the nation.
While the situation may be even worse as every mislabeled power line or gas pipe can delay construction for months. Disney World solves this problem with its utilidors, a network of tunnels beneath its parks housing all utility lines. These utilidors protect cables from weather and soil changes, making them easy to monitor, catalog, and access.
Although costly initially, the long-term savings are significant, particularly in areas with frequent digging. Other cities, like Prague and Singapore, have also implemented utility tunnel networks, showcasing the feasibility of this solution in urban areas.
Written by urgent.news from Vox's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
