39-1361.

Cross or dig up highway; permit by department; conditions.

No person, firm, or corporation may dig up, cross, or otherwise use any portion of the state highway system for laying or relaying pipelines, ditches, flumes, pipes, sewers, railways, or any other similar purpose without obtaining a written permit from the department and agreeing to comply with such reasonable regulations as the department shall prescribe. Such regulations may include provisions relevant to an existing portion of the state highway system and also may contemplate future or contingent problems by providing protection to the department from expense or damage arising in the reconstruction or relocation of a portion of the state highway system when such expense or damage would not have existed but for the activity authorized by the permit. No person, firm, or corporation shall construct or install any new pole line, any underground conduit, or any buried cable or erect any new guy wires upon any portion of the state highway right-of-way without obtaining a written consent or permit from the department. The department shall grant such written consent or permits to do any of the things mentioned in this section if the installation of such thing does not interfere with, or cause unreasonable hazards to, the use of the right-of-way for highway purposes. The person, firm, or corporation to whom, or in whose behalf, the permit is given shall pay the cost of placing the highway in as good condition as it was prior to being dug up, crossed, or used and shall, upon the request of the department, furnish the state with a cash deposit or certified check upon a solvent bank, or a surety bond in a guaranty company qualified to do business in Nebraska. The deposit, check, or bond shall be in the amount required by the department and shall be furnished on condition that the sum be forfeited to the state in the event that the conditions of the permit or regulations of the department are breached. A written permit to do any of the things mentioned in this section shall not be required for emergency maintenance or emergency repair work on existing facilities, but in such cases oral consent shall be secured from the Director-State Engineer or his authorized representative as soon as the exigencies of the situation allow.