Highways UK 2026 | DACI Event

‍Highways UK 2026: Tackling Utility Coordination Earlier

In October, the DACI team spent two days at Highways UK in Birmingham, meeting developers, contractors, authorities and other parties working across the UK’s road network.

Many of those conversations kept returning to the same theme. As Waleed Kazmi, Senior Design Engineer at DACI, explained on the stand:

“The biggest challenge I see is coordination. Highway designs are getting more complex, with more utilities and tighter deadlines.”

On highway schemes, utilities are often identified late in the process, and that’s where much of the risk sits. A clash discovered during construction can mean redesigns, unplanned diversions and knock-on delays, all of which carry real cost implications for the project.

DACI’s approach is to bring that work forward.

By completing early-stage utility designs and modelling, the team helps clients understand what’s in the ground and what needs to move before it becomes a problem on site. When that early design work is done accurately, it improves timelines, reduces the need for diversions and helps keep highway schemes on programme.

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It was clear from the two days that many organisations are facing the same challenge, and it was valuable to hear how it’s playing out across different schemes and regions.

A big thank you to everyone who visited the stand, and to Waleed and the team for representing DACI so well. If utility coordination, clashes or delays are affecting a scheme you’re working on, the team is always happy to talk it through. 

Missed us at the show? Get in touch to talk about your next development, or explore our utilities engineering services.

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