Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 18 - TRANSPORTATION
Chapter 18.7 - MAINTENANCE
Subchapter 18.7.2 - Right-of-Way Occupancy by Utilities
Rule 18.7.230 - ATTACHMENT TO HIGHWAY STRUCTURES

(i) The owner shall inspect the attachment annually and shall repair any deficiencies. The owner shall maintain a record of the inspections.

(ii) If the attachment is not currently permitted by a structure attachment permit, the owner shall submit an application for a permit and drawings to the appropriate district office for approval under these rules within six months of the effective date of these rules.

(i) All utility facilities attached to structures shall be attached as provided in this rule unless written approval to do otherwise is granted by the department's bridge engineer.

(ii) Attachments to structures shall be inspected by the owner at least once per year and the owner shall repair any deficiencies immediately. Records of the inspections shall be maintained by the owner for a minimum of three years.

(iii) Attachment to longitudinal structures on a full control access facility system generally will not be permitted except to exclusively serve a highway facility. Attachments to existing structures crossing the full control access facility will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

(iv) The attachment method shall conform to engineering standards for preserving the highway, its safe operation, maintenance and appearance.

(v) Attachment of a utility facility will not be permitted unless the structure can support the additional load, and accommodate the utility facility without compromising highway user safety and convenience, and its attachment does not impair bridge inspection or maintenance.

(vi) Manholes will not be allowed in the driving lanes of a bridge deck. Where the structure has a minimum shoulder width of 3.048 meters (10 feet), manhole access through the deck in the shoulder area may be allowed within the discretion of the department.

(vii) The utility attachment will be installed on the bridge in a manner which will not reduce the vertical clearances above river, stream, pavement or top of a rail.

(viii) Utility attachments to the outside of a structure that is located within 402.336 meters (440 yards) of a residential structure, park, fishing access site, or other recreational facility will not be permitted. A residential structure is any go building intended for human occupancy, including businesses. This provision may be waived by the district administrator if the utility can demonstrate the provision will place an economic hardship on the utility and that the design and attachment of the facility will not detract from the aesthetics of the structure. In other areas where, in the opinion of the district administrator, bridge aesthetics are not a particular concern, a utility may be attached to the outside of the structure. Utilities attached to the outside of the structure will be on the downstream side.

(ix) Utility facilities shall be firmly attached to the structure and where necessary padded to eliminate noise and abrasion due to vibrations caused by wind or traffic.

(x) The installation of a utility through the abutment or wing wall of an existing structure shall not be permitted.

(xi) In locations where a utility attached to a structure is carried beyond the back of the abutment, the utility shall curve or angle out to its proper alignment outside the roadbed area within the shortest possible distance from the abutment.

(xii) So long as utility facilities comply with the other conditions set forth in these rules such a facility may be attached to structures by hangers or roller assemblies suspended from inserts in the underside of the deck or from hanger rods clamped to a flange of a superstructure member.

(xiii) The design of a utility attachment to a highway structure shall include provisions acceptable to the department for lineal expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. Line bends or expansion couplings may be used for this purpose.

(xiv) Each proposed bridge attachment will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the department.

(xv) Trenching in the vicinity of piers, bents or abutments shall be a sufficient distance from footings to prevent undercutting or material from sloughing from under the footing.

(xvi) An application which involves the reduction of existing waterway area shall not be permitted.

(xvii) Utilities attached to bridges shall not be maintained from the bridge deck without the prior approval of the department's district engineer.

(xviii) Utility facilities shall not be attached to bridges on or eligible for listing on the national register of historic places without written consent of the state historic preservation officer.

(xix) By accepting the occupancy permit, the owner of the utility facility shall be fully liable to the department, or others, for any damage to the structure, or the surrounding environment, caused by the placement and use of the facility on a highway structure. If the structure is damaged by the utility facility, through negligence or otherwise, so that the structure can not be used by the traveling public, then the utility must pay all costs to repair the structure, and associated costs.

(xx) The department shall not allow any new attachments to a highway structure by petroleum, natural gas, or other products pipelines in seismically active areas (those areas where the anticipated acceleration coefficients due to an earthquake exceed 100 of gravity) unless the structure has been retrofitted or built in conformity to the department's seismic requirements since January 1, 1992. The department may waive this requirement if the department determines that the structure is adequate for the seismic area within which it is located.

(i) The carrier line shall be encased throughout the length of the structure and the casing shall be carried beyond, but not through, the bridge abutments and shall be effectively opened or vented at each end. The casing shall be designed to withstand the same internal pressure as the carrier pipe; or

(ii) The carrier line may be attached to the structure unencased using the following design factors:

Class Location 1 0.50

Class Location 2 0.40

Class Location 3 0.33

Class Location 4 0.27

The design factor specified shall be obtained in accordance with the equations set forth in 49 CFR 192 by any combination of wall thickness and/or pipe yield strength that will provide the required design factors. If the design factor is obtained by increasing steel strength, the utility shall provide certification at the time of installation to the department that the pipe, in fact, meets the strength requirements in the design calculations.