SURVEY OF STATE UTILITY MANUAL CLEAR ZONE PROVISIONS

This paper outlines the development of the clear zone philosophy, its application to utility offices of state highway agencies, and the findings of a survey of state highway agency utility manuals. A summary is also provided of the many standards and guidelines (prepared by AASHTO, FHWA, and other authoritative bodies) that impact individual utilities in the clear zone. States have pursued widely divergent paths in developing their independent clear zone policies. Forty state utility manuals were reviewed to assess this divergency, and summaries of each state's policies were prepared in tabular and discussion form. Although there were many differences, several concepts and terms were found to be common in many manuals. Examples included the use of terms such as "as near to the right-of-way as practical," and varying lateral clearances based on (a) the presence of curb and gutter, (b) urban/rural locations, and (c) speed limit differences. Greater standardization is needed, and a national conference focused on the clear zone could initiate this standardization. At the same time, a training course could be prepared and widely disseminated to increase both understanding and uniformity. The AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (in preparation) was identified as the document that will probably be the most influential in future clear zone policy formulation.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1989/1233/1233-017.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=SURVEY+OF+STATE+UTILITY+MANUAL+CLEAR+ZONE+PROVISIONS&author=D.+Turner&author=J.+Walters&author=J.+Hutt&author=J.+Patrick&publication_year=1989
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309050057
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1233, Design and Testing of Roadside Safety Devices. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Turner, Daniel S
  • Walters, James V
  • Hutt, Johnny M
  • Patrick, Joseph E
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 164-177
• Monograph Title: DESIGN AND TESTING OF ROADSIDE SAFETY DEVICES
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1233
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Clear zones; Data collection; Guidelines; Guides to information; Location; Manuals; Public utilities; Standardization; Standards; States; Surveys
• Identifier Terms: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
• Uncontrolled Terms: Utilities
• Old TRIS Terms: Guides
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00495147
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0-309-05005-7
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jun 30 1990 12:00AM