105.21 Agreement for Shifting State Highway Entrance

Occasionally a property owner may request to shift a plan entrance on a project. If the entrance location is on limited access, it is necessary to handle the request in a specific manner in order to protect both the department's access rights and the property owner's legal access rights. No additions, deletions, or revisions should be made to entrances to condemned property or to controlled access right of way without written approval of the District Engineer.

When a request is received, it should be reviewed in the district by design, right of way, maintenance and traffic, as well as the construction office. If found acceptable to all departments, a standard "Agreement for Shifting State Highway Entrance" should be filled out by the district and executed by the property owner(s), along with the appropriate acknowledgments. (Refer to Agreement for Shifting State Highway Entrance, page 1, page 2, page 3 and page 4, Acknowledgment by Commission, Acknowledgment by Individual and Acknowledgment by Corporation.) In certain instances it may be necessary to prepare a special agreement to cover the conditions encountered. This may be done at the district level or by the legal division.

The district should submit five copies each of the agreement and sketches showing the plan and proposed location of the entrance to the State Construction & Materials Engineer. If the situation is complex, submit a copy of the deed. A letter of transmittal should include why the change is being requested, how it affects the department, will the change result in additional costs, and a recommendation by the district.

Upon receipt by the State Construction & Materials Engineer, the respective divisions in the central office are asked to review the request and provide their comments. After review by the legal division, the agreement will be presented for the Chief Engineer's consideration and approval. The agreement, if approved, will be returned to the district for recording. This process is often time consuming; therefore, the district should initiate the processing as soon as the request is made in order to alleviate any delays to the project. No changes in plan construction should be made until the shift agreement is approved.

Contracts involving changes in access in keeping with the Commission's policy for approving documents (Highways-Limited Access-Execution of Documents) advises that the Director, Chief Engineer, Chief Financial Officer, State Traffic Engineer or District Engineer can execute changes in access: however, deeds and/or other documents used to convey the property must be executed by the chair or vice-chair of the Commission.