New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 16 - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 25 - UTILITY ACCOMMODATION › Subchapter 10 - OVERHEAD POWER AND COMMUNICATION LINES › Section 16:25-10.3 - Location and alignment

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Utility poles
				shall be located as close to the right-of-way as practical, preferably no
				further than five feet from the right-of-way line as allowed by cross-arm
				aerial clearance requirements. Aerial easements shall be considered to
				accommodate cross-arms to achieve the desired pole offsets.
(b) Location of overhead utilities on
				highways with narrow right-of-way or on urban streets with closely abutting
				improvements requires special consideration. Utility poles shall be located
				behind the sidewalk, as far as practical from the curb or gutter line. When
				this is not feasible, poles may be placed between the sidewalk and the curb or
				gutter line, as close to the sidewalk as possible. If site constraints require
				utility poles to be placed within the sidewalk area, they shall be located in
				compliance with the Department's Roadway Design Manual by maintaining the
				minimum useable width of sidewalk to allow for wheelchair passage. In no case
				shall the face of the utility poles be located closer than 1.5 feet from the
				face of the curb or the gutter line.
(c) The distance between utility poles should
				be the longest feasible span length consistent with geometric and design line
				loading considerations.
(d) In
				areas where advisory speed, speed reduction, and/or horizontal alignment
				warning signs are posted in advance of highway curves, consideration shall be
				given to relocating the poles to the inside of the curve, installing the
				facility underground, or some other cost effective alternative, which avoids
				the placement of poles on the outside of the curve. Should pole placement be
				required along the outside of the horizontal curve, the number of poles shall
				be held to a minimum and pole offsets shall be increased to the maximum
				allowable given the site constraints.
(e) Where a guide rail is present, utility
				poles shall be located in accordance with the Department's Roadway Design
				Manual.
(f) Utility poles shall be
				located longitudinally at least 50 feet beyond an exit terminal or gore/island
				approach end. Placement of poles in islands that do not have a longitudinal
				through roadway length of 100 feet or more is discouraged, except where other
				locations are unusually difficult and unreasonably costly.
(g) Poles being installed in proximity to a
				bridge structure shall maintain a minimum offset distance equal to or greater
				than the exposed height of the pole.
(h) Guy wires to ground anchors and stub
				poles shall not be placed between a pole and the traveled way where they
				encroach upon the clear zone area. Push brace poles shall not be placed between
				the utility pole and the traveled way.
(i) Where irregular shaped portions of the
				right-of-way extend beyond the parallel right-of-way limits, variances in the
				location from the right-of-way line may be allowed, as necessary, to maintain a
				reasonably uniform alignment for longitudinal overhead installations.
(j) Poles, guys, or other related facilities
				shall not be located in a highway median unless other alternatives are
				determined to be impractical and where suitable protection is provided to the
				highway user.
(k) At locations
				where a traffic signal standard, traffic signal standard mounted lighting
				assembly, separate lighting standard, or overhead sign structures exists, the
				installation shall conform to the provisions of
				16:25-10.4.
(l) When electrical facilities (26 KV and
				above) are approved for installation across limited access highway right-of-way
				in accordance with N.J.A.C. 16:25-12, they shall be installed in accordance
				with the criteria set forth in this chapter; however, the proximity criteria
				used shall take into account not only existing highway facilities such as light
				standards and sign supports, but also facilities that the Department proposes
				within the area where the utility crossing will be constructed.
(m) To the greatest extent possible, utility
				poles should be located longitudinally along the roadway. Aerial crossings over
				roadways should be minimized and longitudinal aerial spans over roadways should
				be avoided.
(n) Placement of
				utility poles, guys, or other utility related facilities within intersection
				corner quadrants should be avoided. If utility poles are required at an
				intersection, pole placement should be designed to avoid the most crash
				vulnerable locations involving potential secondary collisions (collision of a
				vehicle with a pole resulting from an initial two vehicle collision).
(o) The placement of poles shall be avoided
				at critical locations, such as lane drops, deceleration lanes, "T"
				intersections, and sections where the pavement narrows. If it is impractical to
				span these areas, the Department may approve locating the pole in the area
				least vulnerable to vehicular impact.