Texas Administrative Code

Exceptions to any design, location, or method of installation provision in this subchapter may be authorized by the department. Requests for exceptions will be considered only where it is shown that extreme hardship or unusual conditions provide justification and where alternate …

Use and occupancy agreements are required when utility facilities are installed, relocated, or maintained along or across department property. In situations in which the utility has a prior property interest that is being retained within the railroad right of way, a joint use agr…

(a) Location. (1) Utility lines shall be located to avoid or minimize the need for adjustments for future railroad improvements and to permit access to the utility lines for maintenance with minimum interference to railroad traffic. (2) Pipelines may be installed under tracks by …

(a) Regular maintenance. (1) Maintenance of the utility facility is the responsibility of the utility owner. (2) Maintenance must be performed to keep the facility in an as-constructed condition, and in a good state of repair in accordance with the requirements of applicable fede…

(a) Disturbed areas. (1) Areas of state railroad right of way disturbed by the installation, maintenance, removal, or relocation of utilities shall be kept to a minimum. (2) Disturbed areas shall be returned to normal grade and elevation, with compaction of backfill material, and…

(a) General Provisions. Any utility line greater than 500 feet in length will be considered a parallel line and is to be located on uniform alignment, within 10 feet or less of the property line so as to provide a safe environment and to preserve space for future railroad improve…

(a) General provisions. Installations crossing railroad property, to the extent feasible and practical, are to be perpendicular to the railroad alignment and preferably at not less than 45 degrees to the centerline of the track. Utilities shall not be placed within culverts or un…

(a) Plans. (1) The design of all utility installations will be the responsibility of the utility. (2) The plans for the proposed installation shall be submitted to and meet the approval of the department before construction is initiated. (3) Plans shall be drawn to scale showing …

(a) General. (1) The annual prepayment amount for each year of the initial three-year period and all subsequent three-year periods of a master agreement will be equal to 75 percent of the averaged annual relocation/adjustment costs incurred or paid for the relocation of utility f…

A directional sign is a sign that contains only a message that identifies an attraction or activity that meets the requirements of this section and provides directional information, such as mileage, route number, or exit number, useful to the traveler in locating the attraction o…

(a) Before a person may erect a directional sign, the person must obtain the approval of the department. A license or permit issued under Subchapter I or Subchapter K of this chapter (relating to Regulation of Signs along Interstate and Primary Highways and Control of Signs along…

(a) To be eligible for a directional sign, a privately owned activity or attraction must be of national or regional interest to the traveling public and must be: (1) a natural phenomenon; (2) a scenic attraction; (3) an historic, educational, cultural, scientific, or religious si…

(a) A directional sign must be structurally safe and maintained in good repair. (b) A directional sign may not be obsolete. (c) A directional sign may not move or have animated or moving parts. Notes 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.945 The provisions of this §21.945 adopted to be effect…

(a) A directional sign may not be located within 2,000 feet of: (1) an interchange or intersection at grade along the interstate system or other primary system, as measured from the nearest point of the beginning, ending, or pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the m…

(a) A directional sign may not contain, include, or be illuminated by flashing, intermittent, or moving lights. (b) Lights that are a part of or illuminate a directional sign: (1) must be shielded so that beams or rays of light are not being directed at any portion of the travele…

(a) The following are exempt from the requirements of this subchapter: (1) a sign, the erection and maintenance of which is allowed under the highway beautification provisions of the Transportation Code, Chapter 391; (2) a sign in existence before September 1, 1985, that was prop…

A person may not erect or cause to be erected an off-premise sign, other than an exempt sign, that is visible from the main-traveled way of a rural road without first having obtained a permit under this subchapter. Notes 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.404 The provisions of this §21.404…

(a) A sign may not be erected or maintained on a tree or painted or drawn on a rock or other natural feature. (b) A sign may not be erected or maintained within the right of way of a public roadway or an area that would be within the right of way if the right of way boundary line…

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (1) Commission--The Texas Transportation Commission. (2) Department--The Texas Department of Transportation. (3) Erect--To construct, bu…

This subchapter is established to regulate the orderly and effective display of outdoor advertising along rural highways and roads located outside corporate limits of cities, towns, and villages. Notes 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.401 The provisions of this §21.401 adopted to be effe…

(a) General. (1) Encasement. Attached Graphic (A) Underground utility facilities crossing the highway shall be encased as shown in Figure §21.40(a)(1). The encasement must be a single structure with no open seams. If used, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high-density polyethylene (H…

In the acquisition of right of way by the department, title insurance may be purchased if it is available and provided the title company can supply the state's needs without delaying right-of-way acquisition. Fees paid for title insurance will be as established and approved by th…

(a) Change of ownership. If a utility sells, assigns, or conveys its utility facility to another company, the new owner must, within a reasonable period of time, notify the department of the sale in writing and: (1) provide the name, address, and phone number of the new owner and…

(a) General. (1) A utility is responsible for the construction and maintenance of its utility facility, including installation, adjustment or relocation, replacement, expansion, and repair. Construction and maintenance must conform to the requirements of § 21.37 of this subchapte…

(a) General. Utility facility design shall be accomplished in a manner and to a standard acceptable to the department. The location and manner in which a utility facility installation, adjustment, or relocation work will be performed within the right of way must be reviewed and a…

(a) Under state law, public utilities have a right to operate, construct, and maintain their facilities over, under, across, on, or along highways, subject to highway purposes. This includes entities authorized by law to transport or distribute natural gas, water, electric power,…

(a) Exceptions to any provisions contained in these sections and relating to utility accommodation shall be justified and recommended for approval by the district engineer and authorized by: (1) the Right of Way Division Director using the form entitled "Certification for Utility…

This subchapter governs matters concerning accommodation, location, and methods for the installation, adjustment, relocation, and maintenance of utility facilities on state highway rights of way, but does not alter current authority for their installation nor determination of fin…

(a) For highways under department jurisdiction, the provisions of this subchapter concerning utility accommodation apply to: (1) new utility facility installations; (2) additions to or maintenance of existing utility facility installations; (3) adjustments or relocations of utili…

(a) This subchapter does not apply to an off-premise portable sign in an unincorporated area of a county with a population of 3.3 million or more, according to the most recent federal census, if the county either prohibits or regulates the location, height, size, anchoring, or us…

(a) A sign that existed before September 1, 1985 and that was registered not later than December 30, 1985 does not require a permit issued under this subchapter as long as the registration remains valid. (b) The sign registration is valid only for the location indicated on the or…

(a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this subchapter, the department will renew a permit for a nonconforming sign only if the sign structure: (1) was lawful on the later of the date it was erected or became subject to the control of the department; and (2) remains substantiall…

(a) To obtain a permit for a sign, a person must file an electronic application through the department's website, www.txdot.gov . The application, at a minimum, must include: (1) the complete name and address of the license holder; (2) the complete name and address of the authori…

(a) Type of construction. Longitudinal lines on the right of way shall be limited to single pole construction on each side of the right of way, unless otherwise authorized by the district. Where an existing or proposed utility facility is supported by "H" frames, the same type st…

(a) A site owner's consent to the erection and maintenance of the sign and access to the site by the department or its agent is provided with a permit application under § 21.409 of this subchapter (relating to Permit Application). The consent operates for the life of the lease or…

(a) An applicant for a permit for a new sign must identify the proposed site of the sign by setting a stake or marking the concrete at the proposed location of the edge of the sign structure, including the sign face, that is nearest the right of way. (b) At least two feet of the …

(a) The department will consider permit applications in the order of the receipt of the applications. (b) If an application is rejected because it is not complete or has incorrect information, the application loses its priority position and a copy of the application will be sent …

(a) The department will make a decision on an application within 60 days of the date of receipt of the application. If the decision cannot be made within the 60 day period, the department will notify the applicant of the delay providing the reason for the delay, and provide an es…

The department will not issue a permit under this subchapter unless the sign for which application is made is located along a roadway to which Transportation Code, Chapter 394 applies and is within 800 feet of a recognized commercial or industrial activity located on the same sid…

(a) For the purposes of this subchapter, a governmental, commercial or industrial activity is an activity that: (1) is customarily allowed only in a zoned commercial or industrial area; and (2) is conducted in a permanent building or structure affixed to the real property that: (…

(a) The department will not issue a permit for a sign unless it can be erected and maintained from private property that the license holder accesses by: (1) a permitted driveway on a state-maintained roadway; (2) a roadway that is not state maintained; or (3) documented legal acc…

(a) If a sign permit is denied, the applicant may file a request with the executive director for an appeal. (b) The request for appeal must: (1) be in writing; (2) contain: (A) a copy of the denied permit application; (B) a statement of why the denial is believed to be in error; …

(a) An applicant may request that the executive director approve a variance from the requirements of this subchapter if the applicant believes that a minor exception to this subchapter is required to prevent a substantial injustice. (b) The executive director or the executive dir…

(a) A utility may file a petition of appeal to contest: (1) a supplemental accommodation requirement prescribed under § 21.33 of this subchapter (relating to Applicability); (2) the application of a design, construction, or maintenance requirement under §21.37 (relating to Design…

This subchapter prescribes the minimum requirements for the accommodation, method, materials, and location for the installation, adjustment, and maintenance of utility facilities within the right of way of the state highway system. These requirements are provided in the interests…

(a) The department may not convey title to, or sever from the real property, a permanent improvement constructed on the property leased under this subchapter. (b) Outdoor advertising will not be permitted under an agreement under this subchapter. (c) The person who enters into an…

Any proposed sublease of a lease under this subchapter must be approved by the department. If a sub-lessee is a utility provider, the installation, adjustment, relocation, and maintenance of its facilities must be in accordance with the department's utility accommodation policy i…