The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) AASHTO--American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials.
(2) Abandoned utility--A utility facility that no longer
carries a product or performs a function and for which the owner:
(A) does not plan to use in future operations; or
(B) is unknown or cannot be located.
(3) Access denial line--A line concurrent with the
common property line across which access to the highway facility from
the adjoining property is not permitted.
(4) As-Built plans--Drawings showing the actual locations
of installed or relocated utility facilities.
(5) ASCE --American Society of Civil Engineers.
(6) Border width--The area between the edge of pavement
structure or back of curb to the right of way line.
(7) Bridge abutment joint--The joint between the approach
slab and bridge structure.
(8) Broadband service--Internet service with the capability
of providing:
(A) a download speed of 25 megabits per second or faster;
and
(B) an upload speed of three megabits per second or
faster.
(9) Center median--The area between opposite directions
of travel on a divided highway.
(10) Certified as-installed construction plans--The
construction plans for the installation of a utility facility, accompanied
by an affidavit certifying that the facility was installed in accordance
with the plans.
(11) Commission--The Texas Transportation Commission.
(12) Common carrier--As defined in the Natural Resources
Code, §111.002.
(13) Communication line--Any conductive wire or cable
that uses electrical or light signals for the transmission of information.
(14) Conduit--A pipe or other opening, buried or above
ground, for conveying fluids or gases, or serving as an envelope containing
pipelines, cables, or other utility facilities.
(15) Controlled access highway--A highway so designated
by the commission on which owners or occupants of abutting lands and
other persons are denied access to or from the highway mainlanes.
(16) Department--The Texas Department of Transportation.
(17) Depth of cover--The minimum depth as measured
from the top of the utility line to the ground line or top of pavement.
(18) Design vehicle load (HS-20)--A design load designation
used for bridge design analysis representing a three-axle truck loaded
with four tons on the front axle and 16 tons on each of the other
two axles. The HS-20 designation is one of many established by AASHTO
for use in the structural design and analysis of bridges.
(19) Director--The chief administrative officer in
charge of either the Maintenance Division or the Right of Way Division,
or a successor division of either the Maintenance Division or the
Right of Way Division.
(20) Distribution line--That part of a utility system
connecting a transmission line to a service line.
(21) District--One of the 25 geographical districts
into which the department is divided.
(22) District engineer--The chief administrative officer
in charge of a district, or his or her designee.
(23) Duct--A pipe or other opening, buried or above
ground, containing multiple conduits.
(24) Encasement--A pipe or other structure that is
separate from and surrounds a utility facility and that:
(A) supports the pavement structure and superimposed
loads on the pavement, including construction machinery, and protects
the pavement structure if the carrier pipe fails;
(B) protects utility facility against accidental damage
from excavation equipment; and
(C) allows the repair or replacement of the utility
facility without disturbing the pavement structure.
(25) Engineer--A person licensed to practice engineering
in the state of Texas.
(26) Engineering study--An appropriate level of analysis
as determined by the department, which may include a traffic impact
analysis, that determines the expected impact that permitting access
will have on mobility, safety, and the efficient operation of the
state highway system.
(27) Executive director--The chief administrative officer
of the department, or that officer's designee not below the level
of assistant executive director.
(28) Freeway--A divided highway with frontage roads
or full control of access.
(29) Frontage road--A street or road auxiliary to,
and located alongside, a controlled access highway or freeway that
separates local traffic from high-speed through traffic and provides
service to abutting property.
(30) Gathering line--A line that delivers a raw utility
product from various sites to a central distribution or feed line
for the purposes of refining, collecting, or storing the product.
(31) Hazardous material--Any gas, material, substance,
or waste that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical
or chemical characteristics, is deemed by any federal, state, or local
authority to pose a present or potential hazard to human health or
safety or to the environment. The term includes hazardous substances,
hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials,
materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table
(49 CFR §172.101), and materials that meet the defining criteria
for hazard classes and divisions in 49 CFR Part 173 (49 CFR §171.8).
(32) High-pressure pipeline--A pipeline that is operated,
or may reasonably be expected to operate in the future, at a pressure
of over 60 pounds per square inch.
(33) Horizontal clearance--The areas of highway roadsides
designed, constructed, and maintained to increase safety, improve
traffic operation, and enhance the appearance of highways.
(34) Inclement weather--Weather conditions that are
hazardous to the safety of the traveling public, highway or utility
workers, or the preservation of the highway.
(35) Joint use agreement--A use and occupancy agreement
that describes the obligations, responsibilities, rights, and privileges
vested in the department and retained by the utility, and used for
situations in which the utility has a compensable interest in the
land occupied by its facilities and the land is to be jointly occupied
and used for highway and utility purposes.
(36) Low-pressure pipeline--A pipeline that is operated
at a pressure not exceeding 60 pounds per square inch.
(37) Mainlanes--The traveled way of a freeway or controlled
access highway that carries through traffic.
(38) Maintenance Division--The administrative office
of the department responsible for the maintenance and operation of
the state highway system.
(39) Noncontrolled access highway--A highway on which
owners or occupants of abutting lands or other persons have direct
access to or from the mainlanes by department permit.
(40) Outer separation--The area between the mainlanes
of a highway for through traffic and a frontage road.
(41) Pavement structure--The combination of the surface,
base course, and subbase.
(42) Private utility--A person, firm, corporation,
or other entity engaged in a utility business other than a public
utility or saltwater pipeline operator. The term includes an individual
who owns a service line.
(43) Public utility--A person, firm, corporation, river
authority, municipality, or other political subdivision that is engaged
in the business of transporting or distributing a utility product
that directly or indirectly serves the public and that is authorized
by state law to operate, construct, and maintain its facilities over,
under, across, on, or along highways. The term includes a common carrier
and a gas corporation. The term also includes providers of broadband
service. This term does not include a saltwater pipeline operator
whose only right to occupy state right of way is by a lease under
Natural Resources Code, §91.902.
(44) Right of Way Division (ROW)--The administrative
office of the department responsible for the acquisition and management
of the state right of way.
(45) Riprap--An appurtenance placed on the exposed
surfaces of soils to prevent erosion, including a cast-in-place layer
of concrete or stones placed together.
(46) Saltwater--Water that contains salt and other
substances and that is intended to be used in the exploration for
oil or gas or that is produced during the drilling or operation of
an oil, gas, or other type of well.
Cont'd... |
