RULES OF HARRIS COUNTY, INCLUDING THE HARRIS COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY, A DIVISION OF HARRIS COUNTY, AND THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES WITHIN HARRIS COUNTY AND THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT RIGHTS-OF-WAY JOHN R. BLOUNT, P.E. HARRIS COUNTY ENGINEER GARY K. TRIETSCH, P.E. HCTRA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RUSSELL A. POPPE, P.E. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT Formatted: Normal, Left, Border: Top: (No border), Bottom: (No border), Left: (No border), Right: (No border) Formatted: Font: (Default) Courier New, Not Bold, Not Expanded by / Condensed by 1 AS AMENDED: EFFECTIVE: 2 I N D E X SECTION 1 AUTHORITY SECTION 2 JURISDICTION SECTION 3 PURPOSE SECTION 4 CONSTRUCTION OF RULES SECTION 5 DEFINITIONS SECTION 6 RIGHT-OF-ENTRY TO COUNTY OR HCFCD ROW SECTION 7 CONSTRUCTION DRAWING SUBMITTALS SECTION 8 TRAFFIC CONTROL SECTION 9 SEALING OF CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS SECTION 10 CERTIFICATES, FEES AND BONDS SECTION 11 EMERGENCY REPAIRS SECTION 12 INTERFERENCE WITH USE OF THE ROW SECTION 13 TRENCHING SECTION 14 USE OF THE ROADWAY SECTION 15 NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO WORK SECTION 16 UTILITIES SECTION 17 UTILITY POLES SECTION 18 PERMANENT UTILITIES SECTION 19 HIGH PRESSURE PIPELINES SECTION 20 EXCAVATION AND BACKFILL SECTION 21 PAVING SECTION 22 MONUMENTS SECTION 23 SOIL BORING AND MONITORING WELL REQUIREMENTS SECTION 24 DAMAGE TO HARRIS COUNTY OR HCFCD ROW SECTION 25 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SECTION 26 LIABILITY SECTION 27 VARIANCES SECTION 28 CONSTRUCTION PER DRAWINGS SECTION 29 INSPECTIONS SECTION 30 AS-BUILT DRAWINGS SECTION 31 ENFORCEMENT SECTION 32 CERTIFICATE SUSPENSION PROCEDURES SECTION 33 CERTIFICATE REVOCATION SECTION 34 CERTIFICATE REVOCATION PROCEDURES SECTION 35 APPEALS AND HEARING PROCEDURES AND REVIEW BY COMMISSIONERS COURT SECTION 36 VIOLATION OF CONDITIONS OF RULES SECTION 37 CONTEMPT OF COMMISSIONERS COURT SECTION 38 SEVERABILITY 3 ATTACHMENTS: Table I BONDS Figure 1 CURB & GUTTER ROADWAY Figure 2 OPEN DITCH ROAD ROADWAY Figure 3 MAJOR THOROUGHFARES AND DOUBLE ROADWAYS Figure 4 MONUMENT/VEGETATION PLACEMENT RULES OF HARRIS COUNTY, INCLUDING THE HARRIS COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY, A DIVISION OF HARRIS COUNTY, AND THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES WITHIN HARRIS COUNTY AND HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT RIGHTS-OF-WAY SECTION 1 AUTHORITY These Rules are adopted by the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas pursuant to the authority granted to it by Section 2 of the Harris County Road Law Acts 1913, 33rd Legislature, Chapter 17, the Harris County Flood Control District Act, Acts of 1937, 45th Legislature, Chapter 360, and the Texas Water Code, Section 49.211, as amended, and other applicable law. In addition, Harris County has the authority through Chapter 284 and Section 373.101 of the Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 373.101 to operate and maintain a county toll road sytemas part of a county toll road system a toll project that has been removed from the state highway system by the allows the Texas Transportation Commission and transferred to the county.to remove a local toll project from the state highway system and Commented [YP(1]: Reworded by LC transfer ownership to a county for operation and maintenance as part of the county toll road system. SECTION 2 JURISDICTION 4 These Rules apply to all Work on Facilities within Harris County , including the Harris County Toll Road Authority, a division of Harris County, or Harris County Flood Control District rights-of-way. SECTION 3 PURPOSE The purpose of these Rules is to protect the public, to maintain safe and efficient operating rules, and to preserve and maintain the integrity of Harris County and Harris County Flood Control District rights-of-way for their intended purposes. SECTION 4 CONSTRUCTION OF RULES The Code Construction Act of Texas (Chapter 311 of the Texas Government Code) applies for the purpose of construing these Rules unless an alternative instruction, definition, or application is contained herein. These Rules must be liberally construed to give effect to its purpose. SECTION 5 DEFINITIONS As used in these Rules, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: A. “Applicable Criteria” - Specifications, standards, guidelines, rules, and Formatted: Font color: Light Blue regulations, adopted by Commissioners Court acting as the governing body of HC and HCFCD, and/or applicable State or Federal law. B. “Applicant” - A Person who makes a formal application to Work in HC or HCFCD Formatted: Font color: Light Blue ROW. C. “As-Built Drawings” – As-Built Drawings are a revised set of drawings submitted by the Applicant upon completion of the approved Work. They reflect all changes made in the specifications and Construction Drawings during the construction 5 process, and show the exact dimensions, geometry, and location of all elements of the Work completed under the Certificate. D. “Certificate” – Document that HC issues that shows that the Applicant has complied with these Rules to Work in HC or HCFCD ROW. E. “Commissioners Court” – Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas. F. “Construction Drawing” – Drawings used to construct a proposed development or Formatted: Font color: Light Blue roadway and drainage facilities or any other constructed Facility. G. “County Engineer” - The County Engineer of Harris County, Texas or any employee authorized by said County Engineer to act on his or her behalf. G.H. “County Rroad” – All roads operated and maintained by Harris County and listed on Formatted: Font color: Light Blue the Harris County Road log. H.I. “District Engineer” - The Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District or any employee authorized to act on his or her behalf. I.J. “Emergency Repair” – The repair of a failure causing an imminent threat to public safety. K. “Facility, Utility, or Infrastructure” - Any pipeline, main, conduit, cable, utility line, pole line, sewer line, water line, outfall pipe, monitoring well, soil boring, flood control feature and infrastructure associated with storm water drainage, building, fencing or any other structure other than a driveway/roadside culvert as outlined in the Applicable Criteria, or any other structure that provides the service (such as supply of electricity, water, sanitary, gas, communications, tolling services etc.) that is provided to the public. A turn lane and median cut are included in this definition. Not included in this definition are service taps from a mainline (water, sewer, gas or cable) 6 serving a single-family residence. For the purposes of these Rules, Utility and Facility and Infrastructure are interchangeable. J.L. Harris County Toll Road System – a system of about 127 miles of roadway in Harris County that currently includes the following toll roads - Westpark Tollway, Sam Houston Tollway, Hardy Toll Road, which includes the Downtown Hardy Toll Road Extension, Tomball Tollway, Katy Managed Lanes and the Fort Bend County Toll Road Extension. K.M. “HC” – Harris County, the a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Formatted: Font color: Light Blue N. “HCFCD” or “District” – Harris County Flood Control District, a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Commented [YP(2]: LC added a political subdivision of the State of Texas O. “HCTRA” – Harris County Toll Road Authority, a division of Harris County, Texas. Formatted: Font color: Light Blue Formatted: Font color: Light Blue P. “"HCTRA Executive Director” - The Executive Director of the Harris County Toll Road Authority or any employee authorized to act on his or her behalf. L. M.Q. “High Pressure Pipeline” - Any pipeline designed to transport a liquid or gas at a pressure equal to or in excess of 60 pounds per square inch. N.R. “Landscaping” - The placement of trees, shrubs, or plants for the purpose of beautification of an esplanade(s) or other HC or HCFCD ROW. O.S. “Master-Planned Community” - A subdivision equal to or greater than 1,000 acres. T. “Monument” - Any structure displaying a subdivision name or other type of identification usually placed at the entrance of a subdivision in HC ROW. This 7 definition does not include signs on private property or traffic control signs. Message boards or electronic displays are prohibited. Formatted: Font color: Red P.U. “Network Node” - Equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless Formatted: Font: Not Bold communications between user equipment and a communications network, including equipment associated with wireless communications, a radio transceiver, an antenna, a battery-only backup power supply, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration, or a coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is immediately adjacent to and directly associated within particular collocation. Q.V. “Permanent Utility” - A structure that provides the service (such as a supply of Formatted: Font color: Light Blue electricity, water, sanitary, gas, communications, etc.) that is provided to the public. The difference between a Utility and a Permanent Utility is the ease of relocation. If the Utility cannot be relocated easily within thirty days of notice it shall be considered a Permanent Utility. Examples of Permanent Utilities include, but are not limited to: gas lines over three inches in diameter, any duct-bank, sanitary sewers over twelve inches in diameter, water lines over six inches in diameter, telephone/power/communications line poles or Utility Poles over eighteen inches in diameter at base or over fifty feet in height, and electrical, audio or visual cable