La. Admin. Code tit. 70 § XVII-701

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XVII-701 - Acquisition for Utilities

A. The Department of Transportation and Development may purchase additional right-of-way as provided for under R.S. 48:217, in the following circumstances.

1. When the land available for right-of-way acquisition is limited in such a way that it will be impossible for a utility company to acquire enough to install its facilities, the design of the Department of Transportation and Development's construction project should include a plan for placing each utility's facility in the DOTD's right-of-way.

a. This situation occurs when the highway right-of-way is adjacent to bodies of water, railroad right-of-way, and other similar constraints. It also occurs when the Department of Transportation and Development purchases right-of-way to within less than 15 feet from a building.

b. It shall be the joint responsibilities of the utility companies, and the Department of Transportation and Development's design section, and utility section to determine when this situation exists.

2. When the utility fails to purchase its own right-of-way, after making a genuine effort, the Department of Transportation and Development may acquire additional right-of-way for the utilities to occupy.

a. This situation occurs when the Department of Transportation and Development expropriates large amounts of property from unwilling land owners, or when the required right-of-way lines are less than 15 feet from a building.

b. Each utility company affected is responsible for notifying the Department of Transportation and Development as soon as possible when this situation occurs.

3. Special cases where the chief engineer of the Department of Transportation and Development determines that it is to the Department of Transportation and Development's advantage to purchase additional right-of-way for use by utilities.

a. For example, the utility may not be able to acquire the right-of-way in time to fit the department's schedule. In such a case it would be to the DOTD's advantage to purchase this right-of-way.

B. Additional right-of-way will only be purchased when there is not sufficient space to locate all utility facilities within the required right-of-way for the highway. When additional right-of-way is necessary to accommodate utilities, it shall be labeled as required right-of-way on the plans, and purchased as such.

C. Occupancy of said right-of-way shall be by permit or utility agreement, and shall be in accordance with all applicable statutes, standards, and policies as determined by the Department of Transportation and Development.

D. In each case the purchase of additional right-of-way shall be at the discretion of the chief engineer of the Department of Transportation and Development or those engineer(s) to whom he delegates this authority.

E. The procedure for a utility company to initiate any of the above processes is as follows.

1. The utility shall notify the appropriate district utility specialist in writing and provide a detailed drawing indicating the additional right-of-way needed.

2. The district utility specialist shall review the request with the project engineer and/or the district construction engineer. After approving it, the district utility specialist should forward it to the headquarters utility section.

3. The headquarters utility section will review it and submit it to the design coordinator in the road design section.

4. The road design section shall handle it as they would any other change in the right-of-way.

La. Admin. Code tit. 70, § XVII-701

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development in LR 16:1069 (December 1990).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 48:217.