045-4 Wyo. Code R. §§ 4-4 - Interstate Highways and Other Fully Access Controlled Roads

(a) Crossings of the Rights-of-Way.

(i) Crossing of the right-of-way and the area between the NO ACCESS lines shall be allowed for buried and aerial utility lines whether they are owned and operated by a private, public, or governmental entity.

(ii) The specific construction and safety criteria of this regulation shall apply. No above-ground appurtenances that might present a hazard or compromise safety standards shall be allowed between the NO ACCESS lines.

(iii) Customer service lines needed to serve a facility or industrial/ residential development on the opposite side of a fully access controlled highway right-of-way shall be accomplished by construction of one crossing of sufficient capacity to serve the area instead of multiple individual service connections in several locations.

(b) Service roads and frontage roads are generally not included within the NO ACCESS lines and may be used for parallel utility facility encroachments as well as placement of facilities connected with a crossing of the adjacent access controlled portion of the right-of-way. Access shall be allowed based on available space and existing facilities.

(c) All construction and safety provisions of this regulation apply.

(d) Parallel Encroachments Within the No Access Lines.

(i) Nothing herein, either expressly or implied, limits, encumbers, or otherwise prevents the Department from imposing, requiring, agreeing to, or otherwise conditioning access controlled encroachments on such consideration as allowed by state law whether "in kind" or other negotiated considerations, as the Department deems in the best interests of the State of Wyoming and the Department.

(ii) Parallel encroachments within the NO ACCESS line of a fully access controlled interstate highway may be allowed if special and unique circumstances exist and if such a parallel encroachment does not affect the design, construction, reconstruction, safe operation, and maintenance of the highway.

(iii) Parallel encroachments within the NO ACCESS line of all other fully access controlled highways (non-interstate) may be allowed after Department review.

(iv) Requests for parallel encroachments shall be considered and evaluated by the Department on a case by case basis and shall meet the following minimum criteria:

(A) The facility carries a commodity that is non-flammable, non-corrosive, non-explosive, and non-toxic.

(B) The facility shall not require frequent servicing, maintenance, inspection, or patrolling on foot or by vehicle.

(C) No service connections, testing sites, or metering pits or devices- whether for distribution or transmission-shall be constructed within the highway right-of-way, initially or in the future.

(D) No pump stations, repeaters, transformers, regulators, meters, or facilities of a similar nature shall be located within the no-access lines.

(v) The key tests the Department shall use in determining whether to consider parallel encroachment are the following:

(A) Construction of the facility outside the right-of-way has been refused, in writing, by the adjacent landowner and documented by the utility company or owner in its statement of need.

(B) Construction of the utility facility outside the right-of-way is extremely difficult to implement because of terrain, environmentally or archeologically sensitive areas, heavily developed residential or industrial areas, or similar constraints.

(C) Construction outside the right-of-way is unreasonably costly, and based on the size of the utility company, would cause an economic hardship on the utility and its consumers.

(D) Construction outside the right-of-way will cause significant adverse impact on productive agricultural land.

(E) Utility facility construction within the highway right-of-way lines is the most prudent and feasible location available.

(vi) At the time of application, the applicant shall provide the Department with all pertinent documentation supporting the criteria described previously in this section.

(vii) All utility installations shall conform to the requirements of all applicable sections of Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Notes

045-4 Wyo. Code R. §§ 4-4