(a) The commissioner is authorized to reimburse a utility for the cost of relocation, and to include the cost as a highway construction project cost, where the cost of relocation arises from the relocation of a utility facility located on a public highway right-of-way and the highway construction project is undertaken by the department, subject to the following conditions:

lawyer at desk

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 54-5-804

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of transportation. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Cost of relocation: means the entire amount paid by or on behalf of the utility properly attributable to the relocation after deducting from that amount any betterment of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old facility. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • Department: means the department of transportation. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Public highway: means any highway included on the state highway system or interstate system and any highway, road or street that is owned, maintained, or owned and maintained by a county or municipality, including the right-of-way for the highway, road or street. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • Relocation: means the adjustment of a utility facility as the commissioner determines is necessary or appropriate in connection with the construction or reconstruction of a public highway. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Utility: means a privately, publicly or cooperatively owned line, facility or system used, available for use or formerly used to transmit or distribute communications, electricity, gas, liquids, steam, sewerage, or other materials to the public. See Tennessee Code 54-5-802
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The utility shall fully comply with § 54-5-854(b), including the preparation and submission to the department of the utility’s relocation plan, cost estimate and schedule of calendar days for completing the relocation, within the time period specified or within an additional time that may be allowed under § 54-5-854(b); and
(2) The utility shall either:

(A) Enter into a written agreement with the commissioner to include the relocation as a part of the department’s highway construction contract; provided, however, that the agreement may provide that the utility shall perform certain relocation work with its own union employees as required under a negotiated organized labor contract; but, in that case, the utility shall be required to reimburse the department for all relocation costs if it fails to timely perform its relocation work as provided in the agreement with the commissioner; or
(B) Enter into a written agreement with the commissioner to remove all utility facilities that conflict with the highway construction, as determined by the department, prior to the letting of the department’s construction contract, and otherwise perform and complete the utility relocation in accordance with approved relocation plans and schedule of calendar days; provided, however, that the agreement may provide that, in the event that the department does not undertake the highway construction project within a specified time, the utility shall be reimbursed for the relocation work it has timely performed in accordance with the approved plans and schedule.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the utility shall be responsible, at its own expense, to inspect all phases of the utility relocation to ensure that the removal, installation, or removal and installation of the utility facility is done in accordance with all applicable specifications and safety codes.
(c) The cost of relocation for which a utility may be reimbursed under subsection (a) shall nevertheless be borne in full by the utility without reimbursement by the department where, if required by law, the utility does not have a valid permit to locate on the public highway right-of-way from the department or from the county or municipality having jurisdiction over the right-of-way.
(d) The department shall make no reimbursement payment to a utility as authorized under subsection (a), unless and until the commissioner is satisfied that the relocation has been performed in accordance with the relocation plans and schedule of calendar days approved by the department.
(e) To ensure that the department never pays any cost of relocation for which it cannot receive proportionate reimbursement under any federal aid highway act, if the United States department of transportation finally determines that the cost of relocation is not reimbursable to the department from federal funds, or that the cost of relocation is less than the amount reimbursed to the utility by the department, the utility so reimbursed shall repay to the department the difference between the amount reimbursed to the utility and the cost of relocation finally determined by the department.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 8 Contents