(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 under railroad bridges, buildings, or other important structures. Utilities will be located so as to provide a safe environment and shall conform to the current National Electrical Safety Code, American Waterworks Association Specifications, Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations, and The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance Association Specifications. If laws or orders of public authority prescribe a higher degree of protection, then the higher degree of protection prescribed shall supersede the provisions of this subchapter.
(b) Overhead installations.
  (1) A minimum of four feet clearance is required above signal and communication lines.
  (2) Poles must be located 50 feet from the centerline of the railroad main, branch, and running tracks, CTC sidings, and heavy tonnage spurs. Poles located adjacent to industry tracks must provide at least a 10 foot clearance from the centerline of the track when measured at right angles. If located adjacent to curved tracks, then the clearance must be increased at a rate of one and one-half inches per degree of curved track.
  (3) Regardless of the voltage, unguyed poles shall be located a minimum distance from the centerline of any track, equal to the height of the pole above the ground-line plus 10 feet. If guying is required, the guys shall be placed in such a manner as to keep the pole from leaning or falling in the direction of the tracks.
  (4) Poles, including steel poles, must be located a minimum distance from the railroad signal and communication line equal to the height of the pole above the ground-line or must be guyed at right angles to the lines. High voltage towers, 34.5kV and higher, must be located off state railroad right of way.
  (5) Crossings shall not be installed under or within 500 feet of the end of any railroad bridge, or 300 feet from the centerline of any culvert or switch area.
  (6) Complete spanning of the property is encouraged with supportive structures and appurtenances located outside state railroad right of way. For electric supply lines, the crossing span shall not exceed 150 feet with adjacent span not exceeding one and one-half times the crossing span length. For communication lines, the crossing span shall not exceed 100 feet in heavy loading districts, 125 feet in medium loading districts, and 150 feet in light loading districts. The adjacent span shall not exceed one and one-half times the crossing span length. For heavier type construction, the district engineer may allow longer spans.
  (7) Joint-use construction is encouraged at locations where more than one utility or type of facility is involved. However, electricity and petroleum, natural gas, or flammable materials shall not be combined. Pipe truss design and layout are subject to review and approval by the district engineer.
  (8) To ensure that overhead wire crossings are clear from contact with any equipment passing under the wires, communication lines shall be constructed with a minimum clearance of 24 feet above the top of the rail, and electric lines with a minimum clearance of 26 and one-half feet or greater above the top of the rail when required by the National Electric Safety Code or state and local regulations. Electric lines must have a fluorescent ball marker on low wire over the centerline of the track.
  (9) The utility owner will label the posts closest to the crossing with the owner's name and telephone number for emergency contact.
  (10) All overhead flammable and hazardous material lines require district engineer approval.
  (11) For proposed electrical lines crossing tracks, the department may require that an inductive interference study be performed at the expense of the utility owner. Inductive interference from certain lines has the potential to disrupt the signal system in the track, causing failures in the track signals, and highway grade crossing warning devices. The district engineer may require an inductive interference study based on the proposed proximity of high voltage lines to other utility lines.
(c) Underground installations.
  (1) General.
    (A) All underground utility crossings of railroad trackage shall be designed to carry Cooper's E-80 (Railroad) live loading with diesel impact (AREMA, Cooper's loading Section 8-2-8). This 80,000 pound axle load may be distributed laterally a distance of three feet, plus a distance equal to the depth from structure grade line to the base of the rail, on each side of the centerline of single tracks, or the centerline of outer track where multiple tracks are to be crossed. In no case shall railroad loading design extend less than 10 feet laterally from the centerline of the track. Longitudinally, the load may be distributed between the five-foot axle spacing of the Cooper configuration. Railroad loading criteria will also apply where future tracks on state railroad right of way are contemplated, to the extent this information is available.
    (B) All utility crossings under ditches and railroad trackage shall have a minimum depth of cover of three feet below the flow line of the ditch or ground surface and five and one-half feet from the base of the rail. In fill sections, the natural ground line at the toe of the slope will be considered as ditch grade. The depth of cover shall not be less than that meeting applicable industry standards.
    (C) For all boring and jacking installations under main and passing tracks greater than 26 inches in diameter and at a depth of between five and one-half feet and 10 feet below top of tie, a geotechnical study must be performed to determine the presence of granular material and high water table elevation, at the sole expense of the utility. The study will include recommendations and a plan for a procedure to prevent failure and a collapse of the bore. Generally, core samples are to be taken near the ends of tie at the proposed location, at least as deep as the bottom of the proposed horizontal bore. Core sample results must be reviewed and approved by the department prior to beginning boring activities. Based on core sample results, the department may require additional engineering specifications be implemented, at the sole expense of the utility, or may require the utility to select an alternate location.
    (D) The use of plastic carrier pipe for sewer, water, natural gas, and other liquids is acceptable under specific circumstances. The use of plastic pipe is satisfactory if the pipe is designed to meet all applicable federal and state codes, and if the carrier pipe is properly encased within a steel casing pipe per AREMA standards. This casing must extend the full width of the right of way. Casing may be omitted only for gaseous products if the carrier pipe is steel and, at a minimum, is placed 10 feet below the base of the rail per AREMA standards.
  (2) General design and construction requirements.
    (A) If the minimum depth is not attainable because of existing utilities, water table, ordinances, or similar reasons, the line shall be rerouted.
    (B) Locations that are considered unsuitable or undesirable are to be avoided. These include deep cuts in wet or rocky terrain or where it will be difficult to obtain minimum depth.
    (C) Underground installations may be made by open-trenching from the property line to the toe of the fill slope in fill sections, and to the toe of the shoulder slope in cut sections, but to no closer than 30 feet of the centerline of the track. The remainder will be tunneled, augured, jacked, or directional-bored through the roadbed.
    (D) Manholes shall be located outside railroad right of way property, when possible. Manholes will not be located in the shoulder, shoulder slope, ditch, or backslope, or within 25 feet of the centerline of track, and shall not protrude above the surrounding ground without the approval of the department.
    (E) Jacking pits shall be located a minimum of 30 feet from the centerline of the track.
  (3) Pipeline requirements.
    (A) Pipeline designs are to specify the type and class of material, maximum working pressures, and test and design pressure. Pipelines that are not constructed, operated, and maintained under regulations established under the U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations Board shall, upon revisions in the class of material or an increase in the maximum operating pressure, obtain department approval.
    (B) Pipelines carrying oil, liquefied petroleum gas, natural or manufactured gas, or other flammable products shall conform to the requirements of the current AREMA; ANSI/ASME B 31.4 Code for pressure piping - Liquid Petroleum Transportation Piping Systems; ANSI B 31.8 Code for pressure piping - Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems; other applicable ANSI codes; and 49 C.F.R. Part 192 - Transportation of Natural or Other Gas by Pipeline, or Part 195 - Transportation of Hazardous Liquids by Pipeline, except that the maximum allowable stress of design of steel pipe shall not exceed the percentages of the specified minimum yield strength Cont'd...