2 Del. Admin. Code § 2401-2.0 - Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, have the following meaning:

"Adjustment" means the relocation, removal, replacement, retirement, etc., of existing utility facilities as necessitated by a construction project.

"American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials" or "AASHTO" is a non-profit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

"Americans with Disabilities Act" or "ADA" means The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.

"Attacher" means a utility owner with utility facilities attached to a pole or structure owned by another entity.

"Authorization" means permission by the applicable district engineer, public works engineer, construction region engineer, or utilities engineer for the utility to proceed with any phase of the project.

"Backfill" means material used to replace or the act of replacing material removed during construction and also may denote material placed or the act of placing material adjacent to structures.

"Bar chart" means a schedule showing the proposed start and end dates for various utility activities on a complex singular contract or project. DelDOT prepares the bar chart based on utility statements submitted by and in coordination with the utilities.

"Betterment" means any relocated facility upgrade made solely for the benefit and election of the utility and not attributable to DelDOT highway construction projects, as determined by the utilities engineer.

"Bridge" means a structure, including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water, a highway or a railroad, for carrying traffic or other moving loads that has an opening exceeding 20 square feet. A listing of specific bridges that are regulated by DelDOT can be found online at https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/bridge_atlas/pdfs/bridge_index.pdf?cache=1721762441062. A map of various types of bridges that are located within the public rights-of-way can be found in the "Bridges" section of DelDOT's online Gateway Mapping Portal at https://gateway.deldot.delaware.gov/ or accessed directly at https://deldot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c01fb6cee9142109e8fc6ac70a0598a.

"Buy America" means the domestic manufacturing process requirement for all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials that are permanently incorporated in a federal-aid highway project outlined in federal laws, regulations, and policies including United States Code (USC) Title 23 Part 313, USC Title 49 Part 5323, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Title 23 Part 635.410, CFR Title 49 Part 661, and any revisions as per the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), including conformance with the requirements of Build America Buy America commonly known as "BABA". See FHWA Question and Answer for Utilities: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/utilities/buyam.cfm.

"Carrier pipe" or "carrier" means a pipe directly enclosing a transmitted fluid (liquid, gas, or slurry), also an electric or communication cable, wire, or line.

"Casing pipe" or "casing" means a larger pipe, conduit, sleeve, or duct enclosing a carrier or utility facility.

"Chief Engineer" is the individual identified by 17 Del.C. § 111(c), who is the highest authority for the authorization of this regulation within DelDOT. The Chief Engineer has the authority to establish a designee to act on their behalf.

"Clear zone" means the road-design concept that establishes the theoretical limits of the unobstructed traversable area provided beyond the edge of the traveled way for the recovery of errant vehicles. This area consists of elements such as a shoulder, a recoverable slope, a non-recoverable slope, and a run-out area clear of fixed or non-traversable objects. Fixed or non-traversable objects include existing or planned objects, whether natural or manufactured, such as trees, drainage structures, non-yielding sign or lighting structures, drainage ditches, retaining walls, rock outcroppings, utility facilities, etc. The purpose of the road-design concept of clear zone is to provide errant vehicles a reasonable opportunity to stop safely or otherwise regain vehicle control. The desired width is dependent on traffic volumes, speeds, and roadside geometry. See the DelDOT Road Design Manual and the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide for properly calculated clear zone widths.

"Conduit" means an enclosed tubular casing, singular or multiple, for the protection of wires, cables, or lines, usually jacketed and often extended from manhole to manhole.

"Conflict" means when a utility facility is blocking highway construction or maintenance operations requiring the facility to be adjusted, relocated, or mitigated with other measures such as protecting the facility. The presence of utilities in the public right-of-way does not necessarily constitute a conflict.

"Construction" means the actual installation and all related work, including relocation or adjustments, incidental to a utility project or DelDOT highway construction project's construction or reconstruction-excluding preliminary engineering, subsurface utility engineering (SUE), test holes, or rights-of-way work programmed and authorized as a separate work phase. Construction requires adequate levels of subsurface utility engineering for managing certain risks associated with utility mapping at appropriate quality levels, utility coordination, utility relocation design and coordination, utility condition assessment, communication of utility data to concerned parties, utility relocation cost estimates, implementation of utility accommodation policies, and utility design. Please refer to the Standard Guidelines for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data, CI/ASCE 38-02, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2002.

"Construction plans" means scalable plan sheets that show the proposed construction in detail. Construction plans may be in either paper or electronic format, as specified by DelDOT.

"Consultant" means a qualified third party engaged by DelDOT, another agency of the State of Delaware, or a utility to develop plans, specifications, and estimates for DelDOT or a utility.

"Coordination meeting" means periodic meeting with utilities' representatives to outline current policy and procedures and discuss current topics of general interest.

"Corner cut" or "daylight corner" means a right-of-way area at an intersection reserved for sight clearance or turning clearance, usually by a diagonal right-of-way line.

"Cover" means depth to top of pipe, conduit, casing, cable, or similar line or utility tunnel below the earth or roadway surface.

"Dam" means any artificial barrier, including appurtenant works, with the ability to impound or divert water, wastewater, or liquid-borne materials. A listing of specific dams that are regulated by DNREC can be found online at https://documents.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/Shoreline/Documents/Dam%20Safety/regulated-dams.pdf.

"Delaware Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" or "DE MUTCD" means the manual approved by the Federal Highway Administrator as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, bikeway, or private road open to public travel in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) as amended for use in Delaware. Published online at https://www.deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/de_mutcd/index.shtml.

"DelDOT highway construction project" means the constructing, reconstructing, widening, or resurfacing DelDOT-maintained portions of a highway within the existing legal right-of-way or within a newly acquired right-of-way whether by contract, DelDOT forces, or a DelDOT agent. For clarity and avoidance of doubt, the term "agent" shall only include those operating directly at DelDOT's direction and shall not include land-developers or any entity performing work under direct contract of the land-developer in connection with DelDOT's development coordination process.

"DelDOT-maintained portions of public rights-of-way" means areas within the public rights-of-way determined to be under DelDOT's maintenance responsibility or jurisdiction as designated by Delaware Code, specific Town Agreement, or other DelDOT authorized agreement. These areas include DelDOT-maintained portions of the highway rights-of-way outside of incorporated cities or towns and DelDOT-maintained portions of municipal streets, roadways, subdivision streets, roadside areas, or other facilities that DelDOT has entered into an agreement to accept maintenance responsibility or jurisdiction over.

"Delineator" means an object marker used to provide attention and awareness to a utility facility of importance or concern that is otherwise unnoticeable or difficult to locate.

"Denial-of-access" means that access rights for ingress and egress to adjacent land parcels or private properties have been obtained by DelDOT in the form of a recorded deed. Where access is controlled by deed there is no right of direct access through the deeded section. Utilities may be permitted to place utility facilities within denial-of-access areas that are not associated with fully controlled access highways.

"Department" or "DelDOT" means the State of Delaware's Department of Transportation.

"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control" or "DNREC" means the primary body concerned with the governance of public land, natural resources, and environmental regulations for the State.

"Designation" means the process of using a surface geophysical method or methods to interpret the presence of a subsurface utility and mark its approximate horizontal position (its designation) on the ground surface.

"District engineer" means the DelDOT engineer of the north, canal, central, or south maintenance district. The engineer with the highest authority in a DelDOT maintenance district.

"District Public Works Section" or "District Public Works office" means the unit within each DelDOT maintenance district responsible for utility operations under the direction of the district engineer.

"Duct" means an enclosed tubular casing for protecting wires, lines, or cables, often flexible or semi-rigid.

"Effective clear zone" means the utility permitting concept that establishes the practical limits of the unobstructed, traversable area beyond the edge of the traveled way available for the recovery of errant vehicles. The effective clear zone concept is applied when select conditions are met, such as the width of the public right-of-way is too limited to fully contain the clear zone, non-traversable ditches, non-breakaway facilities, or fixed objects are prevalent within the public right-of-way, existing conditions establish a driver expectation of non-traversable ditches, non-breakaway facilities, or fixed objects within the clear zone. Effective clear zone principles prioritize limiting encroachment of proposed non-breakaway facilities or additional fixed objects, by ensuring these elements are located as close to the public right-of-way line as feasible or at minimum, are located behind any existing non-traversable ditches, non-breakaway facilities, or fixed objects within the public right-of-way.

"Eligibility" means the costs incurred on a project or a specific phase of a project that, when authorized, may be eligible for reimbursement provided they are legally qualified under the applicable State highway laws.

"Emergency" means a situation as defined in 26 Del.C. Ch. 8 - the Miss Utility Law. This shall also include situations deemed by DelDOT to be an emergency within the DelDOT-maintained portions of public right-of-way Emergency situations create specific impacts by which the safety of the traveling public or general public, or the structural integrity of the highway facility, is placed in immediate danger.

"Encasement" means a structural element that surrounds a carrier or casing.

"Executed agreement" means a legal instrument entered by DelDOT and a utility construction project which outlines the legal and financial responsibilities of both parties.

"Federal-aid highway projects" means the active or completed projects administered by or through DelDOT which involve the use of federal aid highway funds for the development, acquisition of right-of-way, construction, or improvement of the highway or related facilities, including highway beautification projects under 23 U.S.C. 319, Landscaping and Scenic Enhancement.

"Federal Highway Administration" or "FHWA" means the U.S. Department of Transportation's federal highway agency.

"Flexible pipe" is a plastic, fiberglass, or metallic pipe with a large ration of diameter to wall thickness designed for a diametric deflection of up to 5%. The pipe can be designed for a diametric deflection of up to 7.5% with an engineering study confirming the pipe's stability and structural soundness.

"Flow line" means the bottom elevation of an open channel or bottom of pipe otherwise known as the invert of the pipe.

"Functional classification" means the system of hierarchical designation for highways based on the competing functions of transportation movement and access are satisfied. See DelDOT Road Design Manual Chapter 2, as amended, and functional classification maps for specific highway designation. The DelDOT Road Design Manual is available at DelDOT's website under Publications.

"Hardship" means the adherence to a requirement that will cause persistent difficulty with facility installation and long-term maintenance or will be prohibitively expensive resulting in unreasonable rate increases for utility customers.

"Hazardous conditions" means a condition, circumstance, or combination of factors that create a substantial risk or danger of causing injury to persons or damage to property.

"Highway" or "street" means any public way for vehicular travel including the entire area within DelDOT-maintained portions of the public rights-of-way and related facilities maintained by DelDOT.

"Highway right-of-way" means the real property or interests therein, acquired, dedicated, or reserved for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a highway. Lands acquired under Section 319(b), Title 23, U.S.C. (Scenic strips 1965 Highway Beautification Act) shall be under the jurisdiction of the Department.

"Lateral offset" means the distance from the edge of traveled way, shoulder, or other designated point to the front face of a vertical roadside element. The minimum lateral offset varies by setting and constraints but was never intended to represent an acceptable safety design criteria. In constrained environments, there is still a need to position rigid objects as far away from the active traveled way as possible. The minimum lateral offset value has sometimes been oversimplified and misinterpreted as satisfied if placing the edge of objects 1.5 feet from the face of curb. Where stand-up curb is present, the lateral offset is measured from the face of the curb to an object. Reference shall be made to the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide for more information on this concept and its applications. Lateral offset should not be confused with clear zone.

"Letter agreement" means the agreement that is the legal instrument between a utility and DelDOT to establish the utility work in conjunction with a DelDOT highway construction project that DelDOT has determined is reimbursable.

"Maintenance of traffic" or "MOT" means the process of establishing a work zone, providing related transportation management, and incorporating temporary traffic control on streets and highways right-of-way. Also known as temporary traffic control (TTC).

"Manhole" means an opening in an underground system where workers can enter to install, remove, inspect, repair, connect, and test as needed.

"Master franchise" means the legal document that authorizes a regulated public utility to place its facilities within the legal rights-of-way without any vested interest therein under the provisions of 17 Del.C. § 132(c) and supplements thereto.

"Median" means the portion of a divided highway separating the traveled ways for traffic in opposite directions.

"Municipal limits" means the political boundary established by an incorporated city or town through charter, zoning activity, or ordinance, which defines the land parcels and right-of-way areas under municipal jurisdiction. Municipal limits define the exclusionary boundary which suspends DelDOT maintenance responsibility and jurisdiction over the public right-of-way except as mutually agreed upon via specific town agreement or other DelDOT authorized agreement.

"Pavement box" means the cross section of the highway consisting of the paved highway surface, base, and subbase materials.

"Pipe" means a tubular product made and sold as a production item.

"Preliminary engineering" means related preparatory work in advance of construction operations such as surveys, utility plans, specifications, estimates (PS&E), and more.

"Preliminary engineering estimate" means the estimate of the preliminary engineering required to design the alternation, adjustments, or relocation.

"Prior rights" means a utility is determined to have legally occupied a public right-of-way prior to the time the right-of-way was conveyed to or acquired by DelDOT.

"Project manager" means the DelDOT staff member responsible and accountable for the construction project's satisfactory completion.

"PS&E" means plans, specifications, and estimates.

"Public right-of-way" means the legal right-of-way of any public highway, street, or alley that is dedicated to public use or otherwise under the jurisdiction of DelDOT or any municipality or political subdivision. Certain navigable waterways are also designated as public rights-of-way.

"Public Service Commission" or "PSC" means the entity created by Title 26 of the Delaware Code. under the Public Utilities Act of 1974.

"Public utility" means a utility as defined in 26 Del.C. § 102(2) and 17 Del.C. § 143(a)(2) and are subject to the jurisdiction of and are regulated by the PSC

"Relocation" means adjusting or moving utility facilities required for a highway project.

"Replacement facility" means replacing the function of a facility rather than installing a replica facility.

"Retirement" means a utility facility that is inactive or deactivated but remains in place within the right-of-way. Also referred to as an abandoned facility.

"Right-of-way" means real property, or interests therein, acquired, dedicated, or reserved for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a highway or street.

"Roadside" means a general term denoting the area adjoining the outer edge of the roadway, typically includes elements such as unpaved surfaces, sidewalks, shared use paths, surface drainage facilities, located between the right-of-way line and the curb or edge of roadway pavement. Extensive areas between the roadways of a divided highway may also be considered roadside. DelDOT's maintenance responsibility and jurisdiction over the roadside portion of public right-of-way is limited inside of municipal limits, and along subdivision streets as established by specific town agreement or other DelDOT authorized agreement.

"Roadway" means the portion of a highway accommodating vehicular use, and typically includes elements such as paved travel-lanes, paved turn-lanes, and paved shoulders. A divided highway has 2 or more roadways. In construction specifications, the roadway is the portion of a highway within the limits of construction. DelDOT's maintenance responsibility and jurisdiction over the roadway portion of public right-of-way is limited inside of municipal limits and along subdivision streets as established by specific town agreement or other DelDOT authorized agreement.

"Salvage" means material removed and used or placed in storage for future use.

"Single-pole construction" means the use of single poles to support aerial facilities rather than double-pole arrangements such as H-frames.

"Sleeve" means a short casing through pier or abutment of highway structure.

"Standard Construction Details" means the DelDOT Standard Construction Details in effect on the date of permit authorization or notice to proceed. Details can be found online at: https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/const_details/index.shtml.

"Standard Specifications" means the standard specifications for DelDOT road and bridge construction in effect on the date of permit authorization or notice to proceed. The specifications can be found online at: https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/standard_specifications/index.shtml.

"State" means the State of Delaware.

"Subdivision streets" means the DelDOT-maintained portions of commercial, industrial, or residential streets located within right-of-way dedicated to public use. The dedication of right-of-way and DelDOT authorized agreement for acceptance of street maintenance responsibility shall be subject to approval by DelDOT through the development coordination process. The area of DelDOT maintenance responsibility varies by acceptance agreement but includes only the physical features such as paved roadway or curbs that are identified within each individual agreement.

"Temporary traffic control" or "TTC" means the process of establishing a work zone, providing related transportation management, and incorporating temporary traffic control on streets and highway rights-of-way. Also known as Maintenance of Traffic.

"Town agreement" means a formal agreement between an incorporated city or town and DelDOT, created in accordance with 17 Del.C. § 134(a). Town agreements define the extent of power, authority, and jurisdiction, over roadway areas and roadside areas within a public right-of-way, which shall be voluntarily given and surrendered by the city or town to DelDOT. Town agreements are inclusive of limitations and terms as the Department shall prescribe. The public right-of-way areas under DelDOT maintenance responsibility and types of facilities to be maintained by DelDOT vary by individual roadway or town agreement but include only the physical features such as paved roadway or curbs that are identified within each individual agreement.

"Traffic control devices" means signs, signals, markings, or other devices used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or, in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction. Temporary traffic control devices including signs, channelizing devices, lighting devices, and shadow vehicles are governed by the DE MUTCD and ATSSA quality guidelines.

"Traveled way" means the portion of the highway used for vehicles (including dedicated bicycle lanes), excluding shoulders and auxiliary lanes.

"Typical applications" means predesigned TTC plans for specific solutions as illustrated and described in Chapter 6 of the DE MUTCD.

"Use and occupancy agreement" means the written agreement by which DelDOT approves the use and occupancy of right-of-way by utility facilities or privately owned facilities that convey or transmit utility commodities devoted exclusively to private use.

"Utilities engineer" means the engineer and authorized representative of the Chief Engineer responsible for utility coordination work performed within DelDOT's Division of Transportation Solutions.

"Utilities Section" means the unit within DelDOT's Division of Transportation Solutions responsible for matters concerning utilities under the direction of the Utilities Engineer.

"Utility attachment agreement" means an agreement between a utility and DelDOT that covers the agreements for attachment of utility facilities to highway structures.

"Utility conflict matrix" or "UCM" means a spreadsheet or enterprise database used by DelDOT to identify, track, coordinate, and resolve potential conflicts with utility companies throughout the highway project design process.

"Utility Construction Permit" or "utility permit" or "construction permit" means a permit that authorizes a utility to construct, maintain, or repair a utility facility within DelDOT-maintained portions of public rights-of-way.

"Utility coordinator" means the DelDOT personnel assigned to a project responsible for coordinating the relocation or adjustment of all utilities between the utility and DelDOT.

"Utility facility" means any privately, publicly, or cooperatively owned line, facility, or system for producing, transmitting, or distributing an essential commodity or service, such as water, gas, electricity, wastewater, or telecommunications to the public, whether active or retired.

"Utility Permit Application portal" or "UPA" means the online portal used for the electronic submission of utility plans and documents associated with DelDOT Highway Construction Projects as well as utility construction permits and utility safety permits.

"Utility plans, specifications, and estimate" or "utility PS&E" means a detailed relocation cost estimate prepared by the utility and consisting of highway plan sheets which show the relocation and any additional utility drawings or supplemental sheets necessary to provide a clear picture of work to be performed and how estimated costs were determined.

"Utility Safety Permit" means a simplified utility permit that authorizes utility related equipment, personnel, or materials to temporarily occupy or use DelDOT-maintained portions of the highway right-of-way. A Utility Safety Permit provides for TTC or maintenance of traffic and is required in cases of utility related activities that do not require a full Utility Construction Permit but are anticipated to require MOT due to potential encroachment near vehicular (including bicycles and non-motorized devices), or pedestrian traffic.

"Utility statement" means a synopsis of utility relocation work and its anticipated schedule incorporated in the bid package upon approval by DelDOT. Also known as a resume of proposed work.

"Working day" means days between Monday through Friday, except for State, federal, and recognized operator holidays unless otherwise amended by the operative contract documents.

Notes

2 Del. Admin. Code § 2401-2.0

28 DE Reg. 748 (4/1/2025) (Final)