N.M. Admin. Code § 17.4.2.11 - UTILITY ACCOMMODATION POLICY
A.
Application: This utility
accommodation policy shall apply to all publicly, privately, cooperatively,
municipally, or governmentally owned facilities used for the carriage,
transmission or distribution of electric power, communication facilities,
water, gas, oil, petroleum products, steam, chemicals, sewage, drainage,
irrigation and similar items, that are to be accommodated or relocated within
the rights of way of highways, roads or streets under the jurisdiction of the
New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department.
(1) This utility accommodation policy is
provided to regulate the location, design and methods for installing,
accommodating and maintaining physical utility facilities within public highway
rights-of-way. This Section provides for the continuation of past regulations,
State law and modifies and adds new regulations where necessary to comply with
new State Laws and/or Federal Codes pertaining to the accommodation and
relocation of utilities on State and Federal Aid Projects. The accommodation
policy does not address the financial responsibility for replacing right-of-way
or relocating the facilities of utilities in conflict with planned highway
construction. The reimbursement policy of this Department is set forth in
Section 19 [now
17.4.2.19 NMAC] of this
manual.
(2) When laws or orders of
public authority or industry codes prescribe a higher degree of protection for
utility facility construction than provided for in the accommodation procedures
set forth in this regulation, such laws, orders, or codes shall
prevail.
B.
General utility design requirements: Except when a higher degree of
protection is required by industry or governmental codes, laws, or by
regulations of this Department, or orders of the public authority having
jurisdiction over the utility, all utility facility installations on, over,
along or under the surface of the rights-of-way of State highways, including
attachments to highway structures shall, as a minimum, meet the following
utility industry and governmental requirements:
(1) Electric power and communication
facilities installations shall conform with the current applicable National
Electric Safety Code.
(2) Water,
sewage and other effluent lines shall conform with the requirements of the
American Public Works Association or the American Water Works
Association.
(3) Pressure pipelines
shall conform with the current applicable Sections of the standard code of
pressure piping of the American National Standards Institute, 49 CFR 192, 193
and 195, and/or applicable industry codes.
(4) Liquid petroleum pipelines shall conform
with the current applicable recommended practice of the American Petroleum
Institute for pipeline crossings under railroads and highways.
(5) Any pipeline carrying hazardous
commodities shall conform to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Department
of Transportation governing the transmission of such materials.
C. Pipelines located in casings,
galleries, utility tunnels or highway structures shall be designed to withstand
expected internal pressures, and to resist internal and external corrosion;
casings or uncased pipelines shall be designed to withstand external pressures
as well.
D. Joints in carrier pipe
lines operating under pressure shall be of a mechanical or welded leak-proof
construction.
E. Ground-mounted
utility facilities shall be of a design compatible with the scenic quality of
the specific highway segment being traversed.
F. All utility installations, on, over, along
or under highway rights-of-way, and attachments to highway structures, shall be
of durable materials, designed for a long service-life and relatively free from
routine maintenance.
G. On new
installations or relocation of existing facilities, provisions shall be made
for expansion of the facilities, particularly those underground or attached to
highway structures. These provisions shall be planned so as to avoid
interference with highway traffic when additional facilities are installed in
the future.
H. Utility
installations that are required for highway purposes, such as highway lighting,
traffic signals, pump stations, telecommunications services for rest areas,
etc. shall be handled as highway project construction items on proposed highway
projects. As such, coordination by the appropriate Department design unit and
the affected utility is required so as to ensure that proper bid items are
included in the highway construction plans/documents, and that appropriate
agreements are developed for addressing service, maintenance and other costs.
Where no highway project is proposed, but utility services for highway purposes
are required, coordination between the Department unit requesting the service,
the utility and the affected highway district shall be required, and
appropriate documentation developed so as to outline the responsibilities of
each party. In all cases, the location of such facilities within highway right
of way shall be properly established and included in the District's utility
data base.
I. The utility owner
shall be responsible for compliance with industry code, the conditions and/or
special provisions specified in the permit, applicable statutes and regulations
of the State of New Mexico, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Code of
Federal Regulations.
J. The utility
shall be responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of all
facilities to be installed within highway rights-of-way. All elements of these
facilities are subject to review and approval by the Department, particularly
the materials, location and method of installation. The utility is responsible
for, and will provide all measures as required to preserve the safe and free
flow of traffic, structural integrity of the roadway or highway structure, ease
of highway maintenance and appearance of the highway, resulting from their
installation. Traffic Control Plans and signing shall be approved by the
Department prior to any utility work within the highway right-of-way.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.