Livingston County Road Commission
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Livingston County Road Commission
The right-of-way (ROW) concept was created to provide adequate space on either side of the road for storm drainage and a safe recovery area for vehicles that leave the road surface. Read more…
Anytime a person or business does any construction work in the road right-of-way (normally 66 feet wide – 33 feet each direction from the center of the road) they need to obtain a permit. This applies to driveway installation or any other construction type activity. You can apply for a right-of-way permit at www.oxcartpermits.com.
Yes, a permit from the Road Commission is required anytime work is performed in County road right of way. When you apply for a permit you are helping the Road Commission maintain safety for both yourself and the traveling public. The Road Commission inspects each proposed drive location to assure that adequate sight distance is available, to determine what drainage improvements might be necessary, and to review the site for other potential safety problems before a permit is issued. There is a charge for a residential driveway permit and we require that all contractors follow accepted traffic safety procedures to protect both the homeowner and the public.
Mailboxes shall be located on the right-hand side of the roadway in the direction of the delivery route. The bottom of the box shall be set at an elevation, established by the U.S. Postal Service, usually between 36 inches and 45 inches above the roadway surface. Typically, the roadside face of the mailbox is offset 8 inches to 12 inches from the outside edge of the road shoulder. Exceptions to the lateral placement criteria may occur on residential streets and certain designated rural roads where it is in the public interest to alter the location. On curbed streets, the roadside face of the mailbox should be set back from the face of the curb a distance between 6 inches and 12 inches. On residential streets without curbs, the roadside face of a mailbox should be offset between 8 inches and 12 inches behind the edge of the pavement. Where a mailbox is located at an intersecting road, it should be located no closer than a minimum of 100 feet from the intersection. The distance may need to be increased if safety needs so require. Mailboxes and newspaper delivery boxes located in the right-of-way should be constructed in a manner which does not interfere with the safety of the traveling public or the maintenance and operation of the road system. A mailbox installation that does not conform to the provisions of road commission policy may be considered an unauthorized encroachment on the right-of-way and subject to removal.
Mailboxes shall be of light steel, metal or plastic construction conforming to requirements of the U.S. Postal Service. Newspaper delivery boxes shall be of light steel, metal or plastic construction of minimum dimensions suitable for holding a newspaper. No more than two mailboxes may be mounted on a support structure unless the support structure and mailbox arrangement meet American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standards. However, lightweight newspaper boxes may be mounted below the mailbox on the side of the mailbox support. Mailbox supports shall not be set in concrete unless the support has been shown to be safe by crash tests when so installed. A single 4-inch x 4-inch or 4-1/2-inch diameter wooden post or a metal post with a strength no greater than a 2-inch diameter standard strength steel pipe and embedded no more than 24 inches into the ground will be acceptable as a mailbox support. A metal post shall not be fitted with an anchor plate but it may have an anti-twist device that extends no more than 10 inches below the ground surface. The post-to-box attachment details should be of sufficient strength to prevent the box from separating from the top post if the installation is struck by a vehicle.
If landscaping is placed too close to the edge of the road it can be a hazard to the traveling public, maintenance vehicles, and pose a potential liability for property owners. And, of course, shrubs and trees planted in that area are exposed to damage from traffic, snowplowing, and sweeping operations. Please do not plant any trees or shrubs that may become a vision obstruction or that may grow into a large fixed object that presents danger to motorists anywhere inside the road right-of-way. Trees, shrubs and underground sprinkler systems should ONLY be placed outside of the road right-of-way. Before planting trees or flowers along the roadway, please call your road commission to verify the width of the right-of-way.
If there is a ditch along the road in front of your property you should not fill it in even if it doesn’t drain water along the road. The purpose of most roadside ditches is to prevent water from pooling on the roadway during or after a storm, to provide an area for snow storage from snowplowing operations, and to lower the water table beneath the roadbed. Filling in even a fairly shallow roadside ditch can cause serious damage to the road and pavement from frost heave.
Sometimes roadsides have become overgrown with brush and trees over the years to the point that fairly extensive trimming and cutting is necessary to restore safe sight distance for motorists along the road and to help prevent vehicle collisions. In some areas trees and brush have to be cut in order to obtain the width needed for gravel surfacing. We may also remove dead trees wherever possible to prevent them from falling into the road.
The road commission subcontracts the removal of deer carcasses from the right-of-way. Please call the maintenance department for more information.
Each year, thousands of political signs line roadsides across the county. Improperly placed signs create safety hazards and interfere with a driver’s vision along roadways. To maintain traffic safety, while affording office-seekers the opportunity to inform the public, the following rules govern the placement of signs: