Section 29.13. Attaching utility facilities to railroad bridges.

 

(1)   General. A utility may attach a utility facility to a steel or concrete railroad bridge where to do so does not adversely affect the structural adequacy of the bridge, the safe operation of the railroad, the efficiency of railroad maintenance or the aesthetic appearance of the bridge. If it is feasible at reasonable cost to locate a utility facility elsewhere, a utility shall not attach its facilities to a railroad bridge. Utility facilities may not be attached to wood trestles.

(2)   Bridge attachment.

(a) A utility facility may be placed beneath a steel bridge floor inside the outer girders or beams or alternatively may be placed within a cell at an elevation above the lowest superstructure.

(b) Electric power facilities or communication line facilities shall be satisfactorily insulated, grounded and carried in protective conduit or pipe on the bridge structure. The carrier conduit or pipe shall be suitably insulated from electric power line facilities.

(c) Pipelines attached to a bridge may not exceed the maximum allowable operating pressure of the pipe. No pipeline conveying flammable materials may be attached to a steel bridge structure.

(d) A utility shall employ methods of suspending the utility facility, of allowing for expansion and contraction and of going through or around bridge abutments that are acceptable to the department.

Cr. Register, December, 1985, No. 360 , eff. 1-1-86; am. (2) (c), Register, January, 1999, No. 517 , eff. 2-1-99.