Row Rules

County Road Right-of-Way
For Miscellaneous Purposes

General Rules & Regulations

48 Hours notification is required prior to any work within Douglas County right-of-way. (Telephone-444-6372).

No open cuts of hard-surfaced roads will be allowed except by express written permission only. If an open cut is made, compaction tests will be required before the surface is replaced.

Backfill of open trenches shall be placed in layers not exceeding eight (8) inches uncompacted thickness and each layer mechanically compacted at optimum moisture content to a density at least equal to that of the existing undisturbed ground which will prevent excessive settlement or shrinkage. Compaction tests may be required if deemed necessary.

No backfilling shall take place in freezing weather except with the permission of the Douglas County Engineer; and, no backfill shall be made with frozen materials.

All disturbed areas shall be brought back to normal (grading, seeding or sod) with final determination made by the Douglas County Engineer.

Installation of lines under the traveled portion of existing hard-surfaced highways must be accomplished by jacking, tunneling or dry boring from the toe of the fill slope to the toe of the opposite fill slope. The diameter of the hole shall not exceed the diameter of casing or pipe by more than 1½ inches of pipe with an inside diameter of 12 inches or less, or 2 inches on pipes with an inside diameter greater than 12 inches. Voids outside pipe or casings which exceed these limitations shall be pressure grouted. This shall include all abandoned or misaligned holes. Any deviations from a dry-boring method must be approved by the appropriate governmental subdivision.

Trenching across gravel roads will be permitted, provided it is accomplished in increments of one-half of the roadway at a time. At least one-half of the traveled way of the highway shall be kept open and free of obstructions at all times.

The applicant is responsible for all barricading. The barricades shall conform to “MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES FOR STREET AND HIGHWAYS”.

Horizontal Clearance for Ground - Mounted Facilities:

Rural Areas - Poles, anchors, hydrants or any other above ground facility shall be located as close to the right-of-way line as possible.

All rigid poles shall be located at least 15 feet from the edge of the traveled way. Hydrants shall have a minimum offset of six (6) feet.

Urban Areas - Cities, towns and urban areas where curb sections exists, hydrants and rigid poles may be located back of sidewalk or minimum of six (6) feet back of the curb.

Manholes - All manholes shall be placed outside of the traveled way where possible. Manholes placed outside of the traveled way shall not protrude above the surrounding ground.

Road Closings:

The closing of a road can only be authorized by the Douglas County Engineer. If deemed necessary by the County Engineer, a fee will be charged to the applicant per day the road is closed. This fee will be set by the County Board of Commissioners.

Any exceptions to the above criteria must be reviewed and approved by the Douglas County Engineer.