Dunaway Shares How Early Right-of-Way Planning Reduces Infrastructure Project Risk

An integrated approach helps project teams identify challenges early, streamline coordination, and keep momentum.

HOUSTON, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently approved its 2027 Unified Transportation Program, allocating nearly $138 billion in transportation investments over the next decade. As projects of increasing scale and complexity move forward across the state, coordination across right-of-way (ROW), design, surveying, and utility disciplines will become increasingly important to keep infrastructure projects moving.

Dunaway, a Texas-based multidisciplinary design firm, is integrating right-of-way professionals earlier in the planning and design process to help clients anticipate property, access, utility, and acquisition challenges before they affect project delivery. "The greatest value right-of-way brings to a project is the ability to identify challenges early enough to address them before they affect schedules, budgets, or stakeholder relationships," explains Trent Dewitt, R/W-NAC, R/W-RAC, Dunaway's Director of Right-of-Way.

Dunaway's ROW professionals support public and private clients through acquisition, negotiation, utility coordination, relocation assistance, appraisal, condemnation support, and related services. On several ongoing Texas infrastructure projects, early ROW involvement helps project teams streamline acquisition, improve communication, and coordinate more effectively across disciplines.

Early Coordination Supports Efficient Project Delivery

For Bethany Special Utility District (SUD), located in Johnson County, Dunaway provided right-of-way acquisition services for CR 810, a major water transmission line supporting expanding industrial and commercial development along the I-35 corridor.

Dunaway's design and ROW teams coordinated early in the process to identify potential landowner concerns before easement negotiations began. The ROW team also established contact with property owners and gathered key information while design was still ongoing, allowing acquisition activities to begin immediately following design completion.

"The best right-of-way outcomes occur when acquisition planning starts while design is still underway," notes Dewitt. The coordinated approach helped Bethany SUD secure five necessary easements while accelerating project delivery, contributing to the project's completion ahead of schedule and under budget.

Proactive Review Helps Prevent Acquisition Delays

Located in Pecos County, FM 1053 is being relocated by the Texas Department of Transportation due to sinkhole activity and roadway instability associated with subsurface settlement and abandoned oil wells. Dunaway is supporting the high-priority project with comprehensive right-of-way services, including appraisal, acquisition, condemnation support, relocation assistance, and property disposition.

During initial appraisal reviews, Dunaway identified discrepancies in 40 property surveys and provided detailed redlines to TxDOT. Identifying these issues before appraisal activities advanced enabled TxDOT to coordinate corrections with the survey consultant before they were released to property owners, helping prevent complications that could have delayed negotiations and acquisition activities later in the project. As Dewitt explains, "Identifying issues early allows project teams to resolve challenges before they affect property owners, acquisition activities, or overall project delivery."

Multidisciplinary Integration Streamlines Field Investigations

Dunaway is also providing comprehensive Right of Entry (ROE) acquisition services for TxDOT's widening of US 380, an important east-west corridor in North Texas serving one of Texas' fastest-growing regions.

The firm's ROW team is securing landowner permissions necessary for survey, mapping, and subsurface utility engineering (SUE) investigations along the corridor. By integrating Dunaway's in-house ROW, survey, and utility coordination teams, the firm can communicate property access approvals in real time, allowing field personnel to mobilize more efficiently.

Property ownership information, contact details, and access permissions collected during ROE acquisition are also shared directly across disciplines, reducing duplicate research and supporting consistent communication throughout the project. "When right-of-way, survey, utility coordination, and engineering teams are sharing information in real time, projects move forward more efficiently because everyone is working from the same information," Dewitt explains.

For Dunaway, the approach reflects a broader view of right-of-way as part of overall project delivery rather than a standalone step between design and construction. "Successful right-of-way isn't just about acquiring easements or property interests," Dewitt said. "It's about building trust, maintaining communication, and helping clients navigate challenges before they become obstacles."

As Texas infrastructure investments continue to grow, integrating right-of-way strategy with planning, design, surveying, and utility coordination can help project teams reduce risk, improve stakeholder communication, and keep projects moving forward.

Learn More About Dunaway's Right-of-Way Services
Successful right-of-way delivery begins well before acquisition. By integrating ROW strategy early in the project lifecycle, Dunaway helps clients anticipate challenges, coordinate teams, and maintain momentum from planning through construction. Connect with our team to discuss how a proactive ROW approach can support your next project.

About Dunaway
Founded in 1956, Dunaway is an independent, multidisciplinary professional services firm with seventy years of experience delivering right-of-way (ROW), survey, civil and structural engineering, planning + landscape architecture, construction inspection services (CIS), environmental, geographic information systems (GIS), and subsurface utility engineering (SUE) services. With seven offices across the state, Dunaway serves public and private clients, combining local expertise with integrated services to help shape the communities it serves.

Learn more about Dunaway's right-of-way services here. 

SOURCE Dunaway