306A.3 Authority to establish controlled-access facilities — utility accommodation policy.

1. Cities and highway authorities having jurisdiction and control over the highways of the state, as provided by chapter 306, acting alone or in cooperation with each other or with any federal, state, or local agency or any other state having authority to participate in the construction and maintenance of highways, are authorized to plan, designate, establish, regulate, vacate, alter, improve, maintain, and provide controlled-access facilities for public use if traffic conditions, present or future, will justify special facilities; provided, that within a city such authority shall be subject to municipal consent as may be provided by law. In addition to the specific powers granted in this chapter, cities and highway authorities shall have any additional authority vested in them relative to highways or streets within their respective jurisdictions. Cities and highway authorities may regulate, restrict, or prohibit the use of controlled-access facilities by various classes of vehicles or traffic in a manner consistent with section 306A.2.

2. The state department of transportation shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 17A, embodying a utility accommodation policy which imposes reasonable restrictions on placements occurring on or after the effective date of the rules, on primary road rights-of-way. The rules may require utilities to give notice to the department prior to installation of a utility system on a primary road right-of-way and obtain prior permission from the department for the proposed installation. The rules shall recognize emergency situations and the need for immediate installation of service extensions subject to the standards adopted by the department and the utilities board. The rules shall be no less stringent than the standards adopted by the utilities board pursuant to chapters 478, 479, and 479B. This paragraph shall not be construed as granting the department authority which has been expressly granted to the utilities board to determine the route of utility installations. If the department requires a utility company permit, the department shall be required to act upon the permit application within thirty days of its filing. In cases of federal-aid highway projects on nonprimary highways, the local authority with jurisdiction over the highway and the department shall comply with all federal regulations and statutes regarding utility accommodation.

[C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §306A.3]

91 Acts, ch 147, §1; 95 Acts, ch 192, §2; 2005 Acts, ch 32, §1; 2006 Acts, ch 1010, §82

Referred to in §318.8