Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
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.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
48:217.
