2 Del. Admin. Code § 2401-2.0
The following is a list of terms and definitions relevant to transportation solutions, utilities regulations and DelDOT.
"Adjustment" means the relocation, removal, replacement, retirement, etc., of existing utility facilities as necessitated by a highway construction project.
"American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials" or "AASHTO" is the a non-profit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
"Americans with Disabilities Act" or "ADA" means The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.
"Authorization" means permission by the applicable district engineer, public works engineer, construction region engineer, or utilities engineer for the utility to proceed with any phase of the project.
"Backfill" means material used to replace or the act of replacing material removed during construction, also, may denote material placed or the act of placing material adjacent to structures.
"Bar chart" means a schedule showing the proposed start and end dates for various utility activities on a complex singular contract or project. DelDOT prepares the bar chart based on utility statements submitted by and in coordination with the utilities.
"Betterment" means any relocated facility upgrade made solely for the benefit and election of the utility and not attributable to highway construction, as determined by the utilities engineer.
"Bridge" means a structure, including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water, a highway or a railroad, for carrying traffic or other moving loads that has an opening exceeding 20 square feet.
"Buy America" means the domestic manufacturing process requirement for all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials that are permanently incorporated in a federal aid highway construction project outlined in federal laws, regulations, and policies including but not limited to United States Code (USC) Title 23 Part 313, USC Title 49 Part 5323, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Title 23 Part 635.410, CFR Title 49 Part 661, and any revisions as per the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684). See FHWA Question and Answer for Utilities: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/utilities/buyam.cfm.
"Carrier Pipe" means a fluid-carrying inner pipe contained within a casing, encasement, or sleeve.
"Casing" means a larger pipe, conduit, sleeve, or duct enclosing a carrier.
"Chief Engineer" means the highest authority for the authorization of this regulation. The Chief Engineer has the authority to establish a designee to act on their behalf.
"Clear Zone" means the total roadside border area starting at the edge of the traveled way and available for safe use by errant vehicles. This area consists of elements such as a shoulder, a recoverable slope, a non-recoverable slope, and a run-out area clear of fixed or non-traversable objects. Fixed or non-traversable objects include existing or planned objects, whether natural or manufactured, such as trees, drainage structures, non-yielding sign or lighting structures, drainage ditches, retaining walls, rock outcroppings, utility facilities, etc. The purpose is to provide errant vehicles a reasonable opportunity to stop safely or otherwise regain vehicle control. The desired width is dependent on traffic volumes, speeds, and roadside geometry. See the DelDOT Road Design Manual and the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide for properly calculated clear-zone widths.
"Conduit" means an enclosed tubular casing, singular or multiple, for the protection of wires, cables, or lines, usually jacketed and often extended from manhole to manhole.
"Conflict" means when a utility facility is blocking highway construction or maintenance operations requiring the facility to be adjusted, relocated, or mitigated with other measures such as protecting the facility. The presence of utilities in the right-of-way does not necessarily constitute a conflict.
"Coordination meeting" means periodic meeting with utilities' representatives to outline current policy and procedures and discuss current topics of general interest.
"Construction" means the actual building and all related work, including relocation or adjustments, incidental to a highway project's construction or reconstruction-excluding preliminary engineering, subsurface utility engineering, test holes, or rights-of-way work programmed and authorized as a separate work phase. Construction requires adequate levels of subsurface utility engineering for managing certain risks associated with utility mapping at appropriate quality levels, utility coordination, utility relocation design and coordination, utility condition assessment, communication of utility data to concerned parties, utility relocation cost estimates, implementation of utility accommodation policies, and utility design. Please refer to the Standard Guidelines for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data, CI/ASCE 38-02, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2002.
"Construction plans" means scalable plan sheets that show the highway project in detail.
"Consultant" means a registered professional engineer engaged by DelDOT, another agency of the State of Delaware, or a utility to develop plans, specifications, and estimates for DelDOT or a utility.
"Corner Cut" or "Daylight Corner" means a right-of-way area at an intersection reserved for sight clearance or turning clearance, usually by a diagonal right-of-way line.
"Cover" means depth to top of pipe, conduit, casing, cable, or similar line or utility tunnel below the earth or roadway surface. It is normally referenced from the bottom of the highway ditch.
"Dam" means any artificial barrier, including appurtenant works, with the ability to impound or divert water, wastewater, or liquid-borne materials.
"Delaware Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" or "DE MUTCD" means the manual approved by the Federal Highway Administrator as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, bikeway, or private road open to public travel in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) & 402(a) as amended for use in Delaware. Published online at https://www.deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/de_mutcd/index.shtml.
"Department" or "DelDOT" means the State of Delaware's Department of Transportation.
"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control" or "DNREC" means the primary body concerned with the governance of public land, natural resources, and environmental regulations for the state.
"Delineator" means an object marker used to provide attention and awareness to a utility facility of importance or concern that is otherwise unnoticeable or difficult to locate.
"Denial-of-access" means that access rights have been obtained by DelDOT in the form of a recorded deed. Where access is controlled by deed there is no right of direct access through the deeded section.
"Designation" means the process of using a surface geophysical method or methods to interpret the presence of a subsurface utility and mark its approximate horizontal position (its designation) on the ground surface.
"District engineer" means the DelDOT district engineer of the north, canal, central, or south maintenance district. The engineer with the highest authority in a district.
"District Public Works Section" means the unit within each DelDOT maintenance district responsible for utility operations under the direction of the district engineer.
"Duct" means an enclosed tubular casing for protecting wires, lines, or cables, often flexible or semi-rigid.
"Eligibility" means the costs incurred on a project or a specific phase of a project that, when authorized, may be reimbursable provided they are legally qualified under the applicable State Highway Laws.
"Emergency" means a situation as defined in the Delaware Code, Title 26, Chapter 8 - the Miss Utility Law. This shall also include situations deemed by DelDOT to be an emergency within the rights-of-way of DelDOT-maintained highways and streets where the safety of the traveling public or general public, or the structural integrity of the highway facility, is placed in immediate danger.
"Encasement" means a structural element that surrounds a carrier or casing.
"Executed agreement" means a legal instrument entered by DelDOT and a utility construction project which outlines the legal and financial responsibilities of both parties.
"Federal-Aid Highway Projects" means the active or completed projects administered by or through DelDOT which involve the use of federal aid highway funds for the development, acquisition of right-of-way, construction, or improvement of the highway or related facilities, including highway beautification projects under 23 U.S.C. 319, Landscaping and Scenic Enhancement.
"Federal Highway Administration" or "FHWA" means the U.S. Department of Transportation's federal highway agency.
"Flow Line" means the bottom elevation of an open channel or bottom of pipe otherwise known as the invert of the pipe.
"Functional classification" means the system of hierarchical designation for highways based on the competing functions of transportation movement and access are satisfied. See DelDOT Road Design Manual Chapter 2 and functional classification maps for specific highway designation.
"Hardship" means the adherence to a requirement that will cause persistent difficulty with facility installation and long-term maintenance or will be prohibitively expensive resulting in unreasonable rate increases for utility customers.
"Highway" means any public way for vehicular travel including the entire area within the rights-of-way and related facilities. Also referred to as Street or Road.
"Highway construction project" means the constructing, reconstructing, widening, or resurfacing a state highway within the existing legal right-of-way or within a newly acquired right-of-way whether by contract, DelDOT forces, or a DelDOT agent.
"Highway right-of-way" means the real property or interests therein, acquired, dedicated, or reserved for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a highway. Lands acquired under Section 319(b), Title 23, U.S.C. (Scenic strips 1965 Highway Beautification Act) shall be under the jurisdiction of the department.
"Lateral offset" means the distance from the edge of traveled way, shoulder, or other designated point to the front face of a vertical roadside element. Lateral offset should not be confused with clear zone.
"Letter agreement" means the agreement that is the legal instrument between a utility and DelDOT to establish the utility work in conjunction with a DelDOT highway construction project that DelDOT has determined reimbursable.
"Maintenance of Traffic" or "MOT" means the process of establishing a work zone, providing related transportation management, and incorporating temporary traffic control on streets and highways right-of-way. Also known as Temporary Traffic Control (TTC).
"Manhole" means an opening in an underground system where workers can enter to install, remove, inspect, repair, connect, and test as needed.
"Master Franchise" means the legal document that authorizes a regulated Public Utility to place its facilities within state rights-of-way without any vested interest therein under the provisions of 17 Del.C. § 1953 and supplements thereto.
"Median" means the portion of a divided highway separating the traveled ways for traffic in opposite directions.
"Non-participating" means whenever utility relocations are not programmed with FHWA for reimbursement to DelDOT from federal funds. Project design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction can be participating, while utility relocations can be non-participating. Utility relocations may be handled as non-participating on a federal-aid project, even when other utility relocation work on the same project is programmed as participating.
"Participating" means utility adjustments or relocations performed after work has been programmed with and authorized by FHWA. Such funds are requested by the state at the pro-rata share applicable for the project where FHWA requirements are met by DelDOT and the utility.
"Pavement box" means the cross section of the highway consisting of the highway surface, base and subbase materials.
"Pipe" means a tubular product made and sold as a production item.
"Flexible pipe" is a plastic, fiberglass or metallic pipe with a large ration of diameter to wall thickness designed for a diametric deflection of up to 5%. The pipe can be designed for a diametric deflection of up to 7.5% with an engineering study confirming the pipe's stability and structural soundness.
"Preliminary Engineering" means related preparatory work in advance of construction operations such as surveys, utility plans, specifications, estimates (PS&E), and more.
"Preliminary Engineering Estimate" means the estimate of the preliminary engineering required to design the alternation, adjustments or relocation.
"Prior rights" means a utility is determined to have legally occupied a public right-of-way prior to the time such right-of-way was conveyed to or acquired by the DelDOT.
"Private lines" means privately owned facilities that convey or transmit utility commodities devoted exclusively to private use.
"Project manager" means the DelDOT staff member responsible and accountable for the construction project's satisfactory completion.
"PS&E" means plans, specifications, and estimates.
"Public Right-of-Way" means the legal right-of-way of any public highway, street, road, or alley that is under the jurisdiction of DelDOT or any municipality or political subdivision. Certain navigable waterways are also designated as public rights-of-way.
"Public utility" means a utility as defined in 26 Del.C. § 102(2) and 17 Del.C. § 143.
"Relocation" means adjusting or moving utility facilities required for a highway project.
"Replacement Facility" means replacing the function of a facility rather than installing a replica facility.
"Retirement" means a utility facility that is inactive or deactivated but remains in place within the right-of-way. Also referred to as an abandoned facility.
"Right-of-Way" means real property, or interests therein, acquired, dedicated, or reserved for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a highway, road, or street.
"Roadside" means a general term denoting the area adjoining the outer edge of the roadway. Extensive areas between the roadways of a divided highway may also be considered roadside.
"Roadway" means the portion of a highway for vehicular use, including shoulders. A divided highway has two or more roadways. In construction specifications, the roadway is the portion of a highway within the limits of construction.
"Sacrificed Life" means a reimbursable charge for the value of the unused life of a facility removed from private property and not functionally replaced.
"Salvage" means material removed and used or placed in storage for future use.
"Single-pole construction" means the use of single poles to support aerial facilities rather than double-pole arrangements such as H-frames.
"Sleeve" means a short casing through pier or abutment of highway structure.
"Standard Construction Details" means the DelDOT Standard Construction Details in effect on the date of permit authorization or notice to proceed. Details can be found online at: https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/const_details/index.shtml.
"Standard Specifications" means the standard specifications for DelDOT road and bridge construction in effect on the date of permit authorization or notice to proceed. The specifications can be found online at: https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/standard_specifications/index.shtml.
"State" means the State of Delaware.
"Temporary Traffic Control" means the process of establishing a work zone, providing related transportation management, and incorporating temporary traffic control on streets and highways right-of-way. Also known as Maintenance of Traffic.
"Traffic Control Devices" means signs, signals, markings, or other devices used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or, in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction. Temporary traffic control devices including signs, channelizing devices, lighting devices, and shadow vehicles are governed by the DE MUTCD and ATSSA quality guidelines.
"Traveled Way" means the portion of the highway used for vehicles (including dedicated bicycle lanes), excluding shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
"Typical Applications" means predesigned temporary traffic control plans for specific solutions as illustrated and described in Chapter 6 of the DE MUTCD.
"Use and Occupancy Agreement" means the document (written agreement or permit) by which DelDOT approves the use and occupancy of highway right-of-way by utility facilities or private lines.
"Utility Attachment Agreement" means an agreement between a utility and DelDOT that covers the agreements for attachment of utility facilities to highway structures.
"Utility clearance" means the arrangements by the utilities to accommodate the highway construction project. It does not indicate that the utility facilities are removed from the area but that facilities have been either adjusted to accommodate construction or arrangements have been made to coordinate the relocation work with the highway contractor's operations.
"Utility Conflict Matrix" or "UCM" means a spreadsheet or enterprise database used by DelDOT to identify, track, coordinate, and resolve potential conflicts with utility companies throughout the highway project design process.
"Utility coordinator" means the DelDOT personnel assigned to a project responsible for coordinating the relocation or adjustment of all utilities between the utility and DelDOT.
"Utility Construction Permit" means a permit that authorizes a utility to construct, maintain, or repair a utility facility within state rights-of-way. Also, referred to as utility permit or construction permit herein.
"Utility Facility" means any privately, publicly, or cooperatively owned line, facility, or system for producing, transmitting, or distributing an essential commodity or service, such as water, gas, electricity, wastewater, or telecommunications to the public, whether active or retired.
"Utility Permit Application Portal" or "UPA" means the online portal used for the electronic submission of utility plans and documents associated with highway projects as well as utility permits.
"Utility Plans, Specifications, and Estimate" or "utility PS&E" means a detailed relocation cost estimate prepared by the utility and consisting of highway plan sheets which show the relocation and any additional utility drawings or supplemental sheets necessary to provide a clear picture of work to be performed and how estimated costs were determined.
"Utility statement" means a synopsis of utility relocation work and its anticipated schedule incorporated in the bid package upon approval by DelDOT. Also known as a resume of proposed work.
"Utilities engineer" means the engineer and authorized representative of the chief engineer responsible for utility coordination work performed within DelDOT Transportation Solutions.
"Utilities Section" means the unit within DelDOT Transportation Solutions responsible for matters concerning utilities under the direction of the utilities engineer.
"Working Day" means days between Monday through Friday, except for state, federal, and recognized operator holidays unless otherwise amended by the operative contract documents.
2 Del. Admin. Code § 2401-2.0