Can the county stop (tomorrow) Windstream from cutting into an expensive interstection in the county road to patch a telephone line that was cut by the county when not buried the required depth (oh, by the way the commissioner faild to contact dig test before doing the repair that cut the line)?

Can the county tell Windstream where to dig to repair the patch so the intersection of the road won't be affected?

Thanks

See: Tex. Util. C. Sect. 251.156(a)(7) - OTHER EXCEPTIONS TO DUTY OF EXCAVATORS. (a) Section 251.151 does not apply to...(7) routine maintenance by a county employee on a county road right-of-way to a depth of not more than 24 inches.

Now that I know my commissioner did not violate the Texas Utilities Code, does he have any say about where the repair to the line he damaged occurs?

Don't know if it will help with more than bluff value, but take a look at LGC 240.907 - and offer them the choice of $ or repairing where you tell them to!

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

See also: Tex. Utilities Code � 181.082 (2007)� 181.082. AUTHORITY TO INSTALL FACILITY IN RELATION TO PUBLIC PROPERTY - A telephone or telegraph corporation may install a facility of the corporation along, on, or across a public road, a public street, or public water in a manner that does not inconvenience the public in the use of the road, street, or water.

Based in part on this statute, we have a County Utility Accomodation Policy which requires the utilities to bore under roads, rather than trench across them. At the least, if they must tear up the road to fix the line, they are required to repair the road to a condition acceptable to the County...at least as good as the condition the road was in prior to the utility's repair work.

This can be very difficult to achieve if you make them certify soil compaction and road smoothness. Tell them they will have to post a bond to cover any repairs for two years after they repair the road.