La. Admin. Code tit. 70 § II-1505

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section II-1505 - Specific Standards for Installation and Operation of Wireless Telecommunication Tower Facilities

A. All materials and workmanship shall conform to the requirements of the applicable industry codes and to department specifications.

B. All safety precautions for the protection of the traveling public shall be observed. Delays to traffic will be minimized to the maximum extent possible during construction of wireless telecommunication facilities. Acceptable delays will be determined and approved by the DOTD permit engineer. Thereafter, no traffic delays are permissible. These precautions shall be in force and effect not only during the construction phase of the installation, but shall also be in force and effect at all times that maintenance is required. (See Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices-MUTCD.)

C. There shall be no unsupported, aerial installation of horizontal or longitudinal overhead power lines, wireless transmission lines, or other overhead wire lines, except within the confines of the wireless operator's facility as described herein.

1. Coaxial transmission lines, tower light power cables, and other wires or cables necessary for the proper and safe operation of the telecommunication facility required to crossover from the operator's equipment pad, shelter, or other means of communications equipment housing, to the vertical tower structure, shall be supported along their entire horizontal length by a structural cable trough and shall not exceed 25 feet in length.

2. Electrical utility lines, wireline telephone lines, and other utility services transmitted via wireline shall be installed underground in accordance with the National Electrical Code, and the department's specifications.

3. It is the responsibility of the wireless facility operator to negotiate with owners of preexisting utilities in order to have the preexisting lines relocated to accommodate these new installations.

4. Joint use agreements and existing permits and servitudes will be taken into consideration in determining areas for installations.

D. All excavations within the limits of the right-of-way shall be backfilled and tamped in 6 inch layers to the density of the adjacent undisturbed soil. Where sod is removed or destroyed, it shall be replaced within one week. Where existing soil material is, at the discretion of the department, unsuitable for backfill, select material shall be furnished in lieu thereof, and the existing material shall be disposed of by approved methods.

E. Where total clearing and grubbing is required by the telecommunication facility operator, the operator is authorized to retain all cleared timber and shall be responsible for removing all cleared timber from the right-of-way. The operator must follow-up with submittal of a landscape plan which may include an erosion control seeding plan approved by DOTD.

F. Installations through drainage structures are strictly prohibited.

La. Admin. Code tit. 70, § II-1505

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Highways/Engineering, LR 25:98 (January 1999).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 48:381.2.