(1) The Department of Transportation shall adopt rules consistent with this section and ORS § 374.312 to govern the process of application for issuance of permits for approach roads to state highways by owners of property abutting highways. However, the department may not issue a permit for the construction of any approach road at a location where no rights of access exist between the highway and abutting real property.

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(2) The rules and permits shall include provisions, terms and conditions that in the judgment of the department are in the best interest of the public for the protection of the highway and the traveling public and may include, but need not be limited to:

(a) Provisions for construction of culverts under approaches, requirements as to depth of fills over culverts and requirements for drainage facilities, curbs, islands and other facilities for traffic channelization as may be deemed necessary.

(b) With respect to private road crossings, additional provisions for the angle of intersection, crossing at grade or other than grade, sight distances, safety measures including flaggers, crossing signs and signals, reinforcement for protection of the highway, maintenance of the crossing and for payment by the applicant of any of the costs of complying with the provisions.

(c) With respect to private road crossings, the department may also require the applicant to furnish:

(A) Public liability and property damage insurance in a sum fixed by the department that indemnifies the officers, employees and agents of the department from any claim that might arise on account of the granting of the permit and the crossing of the highway by vehicles operating under the permit; and

(B) Indemnity insurance, an indemnity bond or an irrevocable letter of credit issued by an insured institution as defined in ORS § 706.008 in a sum fixed by the department that indemnifies the department for any damage to the highways that may be caused by the use of the crossing.

(3) The powers granted by this section and ORS § 374.315 may not be exercised so as to deny any property abutting the highway reasonable access. In determining what is reasonable, the department shall apply the following criteria:

(a) The access must be sufficient to allow the authorized uses for the property identified in the acknowledged local comprehensive plan.

(b) The type, number, size and location of approaches must be adequate to serve the volume and type of traffic reasonably anticipated to enter and exit the property, based on the planned uses for the property.

(4) The department’s determination that the access is sufficient to allow the authorized uses for the property identified in the acknowledged local comprehensive plan under subsection (3)(a) of this section, or that the type, number, size and location of approaches is adequate to serve the volume and type of traffic reasonably anticipated to enter and exit the property, based on the planned uses for the property, under subsection (3)(b) of this section, shall be based on the economic development needs of the property abutting the highway for its authorized and planned uses, subject only to consideration of safety and highway operations. The department shall have the burden of establishing safety and highway operations concerns.

(5) An approach permit is not required for a public approach.

(6) The department may not charge any fee for issuance of a permit under this section for construction of an approach road. [Amended by 1955 c.424 § 2; 1957 c.323 § 2; 1967 c.497 § 2; 1991 c.331 § 59; 1997 c.249 § 119; 1997 c.631 § 467; 1999 c.974 § 3; 2003 c.371 § 1; 2005 c.837 § 15; 2010 c.31 § 1; 2011 c.330 4,5]

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