About the Conduit Division
Baltimore City's Conduit system helps install and take care of cables all around the city.
The city knows how important the conduit system is for providing electricity to homes and businesses through underground power lines from Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE). Baltimore City works closely with BGE to make sure they have what they need.
The city also knows that the conduit system is important for meeting the growing need for data and communication. They are committed to improving the system to handle this increase.
About Us
The Conduit Division helps with the planning, maintenance, and checking of the conduit under city streets. Developers, contractors, or city groups can submit designs to improve or maintain the system.
The Conduit Division also helps plan new conduit projects, set up rules, and make cost estimates for larger projects. They inspect manholes and repair any problems to make sure the system works smoothly for residents.
The Conduit Division also runs a leasing program. This allows businesses and homes to use space in the underground conduit system for electrical cables. The division keeps track of all agreements for this space and updates them regularly.
The goal of the Conduit Division is to provide a strong system for power and communication. This will help businesses and improve life for residents.
The Conduit Division Team
- Office Administration Team
Our Office Administration Team coordinates office activities and operations to secure efficiency and compliance with DOT and Baltimore City policies. They manage and distribute information within the office. They are the connecting link between the Divisions management and employees.
- Design/Engineering Team
The Conduit Engineering Section manages the conduit design portion of the capital improvement projects. This Section works to plan, schedule, and deliver the design of conduit improvement, from spot repairs to major conduit rehabilitation. Work normally includes the design of projects such as reactive service request repairs, aggressive rodding of corridors, and system improvement corridors throughout the City. Conduit Engineering assists construction management in the procurement of contracts to perform this work as well as engineering insight throughout the project. This includes design and contract document preparation for new contracts as well as review and oversight of the work performed.
Also, to ensure quality work by developers and private contractors, and coordinate with other utilities, the engineering Section regularly reviews the following:
- Developers agreements
- Building permits
- Minor privileges
- Subdivisions
- Water contracts
- Sanitary contracts
- Street closings
- Providing conduit information to the public
- DOT contracts and other work by City agencies and departments that impact or modify the conduit system.
- Field Services – Capital Rehabilitation/Maintenance Team
The Maintenance Section is in charge of taking care of the City’s conduit assets. That includes over 12,000 manholes and millions of feet of ducts. This team makes sure to inspect, maintain, and repair the City’s conduit system.
Inspection Operations – The team handles inspection requests from customers and the public. They inspect the underground conduit system.
Maintenance & Repair Operations – This part of the team handles repair orders that come from the inspection staff. They install and fix the underground conduit system. They also keep track of things like labor, materials, and equipment for the work being done.
- GIS Team
The Conduit Division provides GIS-based information to support conduit design engineering and construction action, for outside conduit customers, in-house City agencies, City Council, Mayor's Office, community organizations, and the general public.
The GIS Section prepares many custom data analyses and maps for interested parties. Before the release of sensitive conduit data, a GIS License Agreement must be submitted to the Conduit GIS Unit. Submitting a request to the Conduit GIS Unit, either by phone or email, will require the following;
- The organizational name, contact info, department, etc.
- A Commercial Data License Agreement is signed by the project manager and principal of the requesting organization.
- A brief but thorough description of the map(s) and/or data products you are seeking.
Please email the Conduit GIS Unit or call (410) 396-6971 to make a request. Please allow 36-72 hours for the completion of these requests. If you are requesting a paper map, wait until an employee confirms your map is ready to be picked up before coming in. We do not have maps in stock.
- Asset Management Team
This plan is designed to guide the use of asset management practices, combining the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Conduit Division’s specific needs. The plan follows industry standards and is based on key principles of asset management:
- The plan is well-organized
- A risk-based approach is used for making decisions about the asset lifecycle
- It works to maximize the value of the conduit system
- It is designed to be sustainable
- People, processes, and technology work together in planning and implementation
The strategic planning process will help the Conduit Division reach several goals. These goals can be grouped into six key areas:
- Actively manage asset inventory and data
- Improve situational awareness
- Gain recognition from both internal and external stakeholders
- Improve customer service
- Control access to the conduit system
- Ensure financial sustainability
Conduit History
The Baltimore City Conduit System consists of over 12,000 manholes that are linked or connected to each other by the underground conduit network. Multiple individual conduit ducts are typically arranged together into duct banks. The conduit system has been in existence for over 115 years. Current design standards now use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ducts encased in concrete.
Conduit Contracts/Projects
- System Improvement Projects
- On-Call (JOC)
- Distributed Antenna System (DAS)
Leasing Procedures
For information on the Conduit Division's leasing procedures, please email us at the Conduit Division
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get street or alley lights repaired?
Citizens can contact 311 to report a streetlight outage by submitting their report online here. Streetlights are maintained by either Baltimore City (City) or BG&E. Please be advised that the City will repair or coordinate the repair of the public street lights.
- How do I get information about the DAS Project (distributed antennae system)?
- How do I get information on the Greenmount Avenue Conduit Improvements Project?
Get more detailed information about the Greenmount Avenue Conduit Improvement Project.
- How do I get information on Conduit On-call contracts repairing service requests?
For information regarding Conduit On-call contracts repairing service requests, please email the Conduit Division.