New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 18 - TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS › Chapter 28 - HIGHWAY CONTRACTING AND BIDDING › Part 5 - MOWING OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY › Section 18.28.5.9 - PROCEDURE

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Application by
				Sponsor. No person, firm or corporation shall mow any portion of the state
				highway rights-of-way and keep the clippings from such mowing without first
				obtaining a written permit from the Department. Application for a permit shall
				be submitted to the appropriate District Engineer using forms provided by the
				Department. Permits shall be for a specific mowing season. Consideration for
				permit applications to mow a given area of rights-of-way will be granted first
				to the adjacent land owner with all others approved on a first come/first
				served basis. There will be no fee for the permit. A copy of the permit shall
				be available on the work site for inspection at all times.
B. Review of Application. The Secretary of
				the Department or his designee shall review the application and, when
				necessary, coordinate with the local authorities within whose jurisdiction the
				mowing is to take place.
C. Notice
				of action taken by the Department. The Secretary of the Department or his
				designee shall inform the sponsor in writing of the action taken on the notice,
				including all conditions imposed if approval is granted. Such conditions
				include without limitations:
(1) The
				requirement that the sponsor make adequate provisions for traffic control
				(i.e., law enforcement, traffic control devices and/or signing).
(2) The requirement that the sponsor and/or
				the participants in the mowing and baling operations execute releases of
				liability, indemnity and hold harmless agreements and also submit proof of
				insurance coverage for any liability arising out of the mowing and baling
				activities, in forms satisfactory to the Department.
(3) The permittee shall carry and keep in
				force liability insurance during the permit period in the following minimum
				amounts:
(a) Bodily Injury $300,000 each
				occurrence
(b) Property Damage
				$100,000 each occurrence
(c) Total
				Liability $ 500,000
(4)
				The permittee shall be held responsible for any damage to fences, signs,
				guardrail, landscape plantings or other highway features resulting from his
				operations.
(5) Should permittee
				fail to comply with the provisions of this rule and the permit, the Department
				may revoke the permit until the permittee agrees to comply with any and all
				provisions required by the Department.
(6) The Department is not liable for the
				quality of the hay or clippings obtained through this agreement and the
				applicant assumes all risk of injury or damage to himself, his property or to
				others or to the property of others which may result from debris, foreign
				objects or chemical contamination of such hay or clippings.
(7) Mowing of state highway rights-of-way by
				the applicant will be done with the full knowledge that the vegetation may
				contain chemical residue of automotive emissions and chemical herbicides used
				for vegetative control.
(8) The
				permittee shall erect and maintain standard warning signs for mowing operations
				in compliance with Part VI of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
				(MUTCD), latest edition and the Departments Maintenance Traffic Control Plans.
				All mowing and baling equipment shall have the standard "Slow Moving" vehicle
				emblems.
(9) Mowing shall conform
				to specifications as provided in the permit issued by the Department.
(10) No moving will be allowed on newly
				constructed or planted rights-of-way for a period of three (3) years.
(11) The permittee will confine his
				operations to daylight hours.
(12)
				When soil conditions are such that damage to the slopes is caused by mowing and
				baling equipment, operations shall be discontinued.
(13) When the Department determines and
				verbally notifies that the operations are creating an undue hazard, all
				operations will cease until further notice from the District
				Engineer.
(14) All mowing will be
				done in a workman-like manner and the mowed area shall be left in a neat
				condition upon completion of the work. Mowing will be continuous within the
				designated area. Selective mowing of vegetation will not be permitted. However,
				the permittee will be allowed to bale only those areas of vegetation he
				chooses.
(15) Equipment necessary
				for this operation will not be left unattended on the rights-of-way within
				thirty (30) feet of the roadway shoulder.
(16) All hay must be removed from the highway
				right-of-way within ten (10) days after baling. Any bales not so removed may be
				removed by the Department without compensation to the permittee.
(17) Large round or rectangular bales will
				not be left unattended on the rights-of-way within thirty (30) feet of the
				roadway shoulder.
(18) No mowing
				will be permitted in wildflower areas.