Electrical and Civil Engineering Challenges for Underground Cable Installations in Urban Settings

Underground cables have been applied for installation in urban settings for decades at both transmission and distribution voltages. The original motivation for cable was the density of structures and relative high costs for overhead utility rights-of-way. Early installations were sometimes competing for space with other underground infrastructure and utilities such as tunnels, water, storm and sewage sewers, natural gas lines, telecommunication lines, other electric lines, and, in some locations, steam lines. The density of the early underground cables was relatively limited, at one time focused only on street lighting. While the energy demands somewhat plateaued during the last decade in part due to the global pandemic, energy usage is accelerating again due to data centers,…